By ANDREW FLINT

On Sunday 21st March 2004, Elias Antonio Saca, a young, popular sports journalist of Palestinian origin, won the presidential elections of El Salvador. His victory gives the right wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) their 4th consecutive government, and promises to strengthen relations between El Salvador and Honduras, which have been strained in the past.

This year’s general elections have seen the largest turnout at the ballot boxes in Salvadoran history, with more than 65% of the 3.4 million population over the age of 18 casting their vote. The previous two elections have only had 43% participation (in 1994) and 41% (in 1999).

Saca’s victory was a marked change in fortunes for his party Arena, who had some disastrous results in the local elections last year, the most significant downfall being the failure to retain the symbolic seat of the capital San Salvador.

The opposing party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), had claimed victory in the run-up to the announcement of the official result. In a local independent television survey, Shafick Handal, the leader of he left-wing opponents to Arena, was adjudged to have a lead in the polls over Antonio Saca with 49.6% of the votes compared to the 43.1% of his opponent.

When the official results were announced however, Handal was forced to admit defeat but refused to congratulate Saca, claiming victory had been won via false means.

“It’s certain that the results of the [Supreme Electoral] Tribunal give the presidency to Saca. We recognize this, but we won’t congratulate him. If they think that they will run the country with this basis of fear and blackmail the country is going to suffer.”

The ‘fear and blackmail’ that Handal refers to is the policy Arena took in the campaigns of warning the Salvadoran people of electing a potentially communist regime lead by an ex guerilla commander nearly twice the age of Saca.

The president of Guatemala, Oscar Berger, who rang to congratulate Saca during his press conference, commented on the symbolism of another right-wing victory in Central America. “I believe the Central American left-wing powers are fading and this is reflected in the electoral result in El Salvador.”

Image goes a long way in politics and Saca’s popularity as a well-known sports journalist combined with his youth may well have counted in his favor against the austere, aged and military image of Handal.

Either way, what Antonio Saca promises to do for El Salvador and the region makes for a commendable manifesto. A large proportion of his promises concerns the development of relations in the area and in particular with Honduras.

“I have no doubt that if I become president,” said Saca in the run-up to the elections, “I will be in agreement with the Honduran government - with whom I intend to develop better and friendlier relations - to discuss common issues such as border discrimination. Hondurans can be assured that we will establish and strengthen a commercial link. The fact that a Salvadoran investor decides to invest in Honduras embraces goodwill. We have already done it with Guatemala. The next step is to do the same with our Honduran brothers.”

Similar words are uttered all too frequently by many newly-elected presidents without any return, so it is understandable if these are met with skepticism. After all, the promise of not only developing the economy but also guaranteeing its future by way of encouraging foreign investment is too often a dream, and not reality, for many Central Americans. However, it is unfair to judge one president by the failure of others, and Saca’s youthful enthusiasm alone is sure to have a lasting impact on the fortunes of El Salvador.

There is an interesting point that would have arisen had Saca not won the elections directly concerning the economy. The US population had reportedly asked for the reconsideration of the lengthening of the Temporary Protection Status of more than 250 thousand Salvadorans working in the United States if the FMLN had won. Since the major source of income for the Salvadoran economy is the money sent back home from expatriates working in the US (totaling just over US$ 2 billion per annum), a left-wing victory could have seriously curtailed this vital section of the economy.

One initiative that is sure to capture the attention of the president of neighboring Honduras Ricardo Maduro, if fulfilled, is the ‘Dry Canal’ project. It outlines a plan for the overhaul of the transport infrastructure between the Honduran Atlantic coast and the Salvadoran Pacific coast, in order to improve international trade. Saca however sees another equally important advantage of the project. “It should put the political wishes of both governments to the test and in this way we shall continue to establish integration.”

Perhaps the hardest task the president-elect has set himself is to tackle the omnipresent problem of gangs. His willingness to put his name at risk in this manner is a promising sign for his ambitions, but in reality, the task will never be complete through no fault of his own.

“It is important that us countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are in agreement to prevent dangerous gang activity which is rife and with this aim we shall continue. Security is a fundamental aspect of my government plan.”

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