Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Wikileaks El Salvador II

The subject of the second released Wikileaks cable on El Salvador is "Wave of Protests May Signal FMLN Effort to Undermine Funes."  The document was written by the US Charge d'Affairs Robert Blau on August 28, 2009. 

Here's the summary:
A recent wave of protests organized by a so-called environmental group, "La Coordinadora Nacional de Medio Ambiente (CNMA)", are likely part of a movement by hard-line elements of the FMLN to undermine President Funes. Over the past several weeks, the CNMA has carried out large-scale, coordinated protests throughout the country ostensibly protesting GOES plans to continue with the construction of the hydroelectric dam "Chaparral" and perceived inequities in the seed disbursement program to farmers. It seems that hard-line members of the FMLN party are using this relatively unknown organization to vent their frustration about the direction of economic policy and directly challenge the President.
Blau then comments:
Mass street protests are part of the traditional FMLN play book and are one battlefront in an ongoing struggle for power between the orthodox FMLN and President Funes. Funes said at a meeting Thursday August 27 that his administration will not yield to blackmail. There is broad public support for the need for Funes to prevail.

Sorry, but I don't know anything about these strikes and neither does it appear from the cable that Blau does (or at least he isn't saying). 

Blau argues that these protests were "sophisticated" because they involved a simultaneous "series of road blocks at nine key points in the highway" while "past CNMA protests consisted of no more than small-scale demonstrations outside of the Presidential Palace." 

Therefore, they must have been organized by the FMLN and they must have been an attempt by hard-liners to undermine Funes.

Anybody have any more information?

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