Local Testimony On El Salvador Deportation

On Sunday, March 21, the Salvadoran people will elect their next president. I was planning to be there, as an election observer and participant in a delegation organized by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador - CISPES. But when I arrived in El Salvador, Immigration officials informed me that I was not on their list of election observers and would therefore not be allowed into the country. Despite the fact that I was, in fact, registered as an accredited election observer by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), I was detained by Immigration and deported that same day. Anytime election observers are not welcome, anytime that an international presence is discouraged from witnessing an electoral process, it begs the question: what are they trying to hide? What do they not want us to see?
The presidential campaign has been a very close race between two parties that represent two political extremes: the ruling ARENA party on the right and the FMLN on the left. Given that the race has been so close, it seems clear that ARENA is afraid of an FMLN victory. Given the history of brutality carried out against members of the opposition, it is no surprise that the ruling party would resort to tactics of intimidation and violence. We know that ARENA does not want to cede the presidency to the FMLN. What we don't know is how far they will go to hold onto power.

I stepped off the plane at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 13, and at 7 p.m. that evening I was on another plane back to the United States. I was held in the Immigration office for over five hours, during which time I was not told anything about my case; I was just told to wait. However, as the different officials spoke to each other, I witnessed the kind of political maneuvering that was taking place to prevent election observers from entering El Salvador. For example, a government official came in and asked if they would release me if the TSE faxed them the complete list of observers with my name on it. The Immigration official responded that no, she would not, because she had no way of verifying that the list was signed by the correct person. I also sensed that the orders not to let election observers into the country came from quite high echelons of the government. As I sat there, the Immigration officials received orders to stop every single foreigner and question him or her. The woman in charge of Immigration was practically hiding out in the office where I was being held; she had received orders not to talk to anyone and to direct all concerned parties to the Ministro de Gobernación (Ministry of Government). Around 1 p.m. all I was told was that I was being denied entry into the country and would be sent home on the next plane. For the next five hours, I waited in the airport, accompanied by two police officers who informed me that they were there to make sure I got on the plane.

It was only after I was released from Immigration and was waiting for the airplane that I was able to use a telephone and learned from CISPES representatives in El Salvador the extent of the detentions. They told me that over 80 people had been detained in the broad net that Immigration had cast in the effort to keep election observers out of the country. Three other members of the CISPES delegation were being held at that time. (They were held overnight before eventually being allowed into the country.) It was also then that I learned that Immigration had received the list of observers with my name on it and even still refused to let me into El Salvador.

I was not tortured or interrogated; no physical violence was done to me. But I do know that there is a strong correlation between mild acts of repression against perceived allies of the opposition and more intense acts of repression against the opposition itself. There is also a strong correlation between excluding election observers and committing acts of electoral fraud or violence. Again I asked myself, if this is happening to me, what does it say about the political situation in El Salvador? What does it mean for the upcoming elections?
As an election observer, my role would have been to observe the elections and report any instances of irregularities, fraud, or intimidation. As a US citizen, I think this is an important role to play because of the United States' long history of intervening in El Salvador (and around the world) in favor of dictatorships willing to protect US interests and against popular movements fighting for the rights of the poor majority. Although the US tends to take a less heavy-handed approach these days, several statements have been made by US government officials attacking the FMLN and threatening economic retaliation as well as a deteriorating relationship with the United States if the FMLN were to win. It is a frightening prospect for any nation to be on Washington's bad side. If Salvadoran voters are forced to choose between a government that bows to American interests and one that would automatically convert them into an enemy of the United States--even if there were no fraud or electoral violence--then could we call it a fair election? In other words, acting in favor of free and fair elections in El Salvador means taking a stand against US intervention. And I think it is important for the Salvadoran people to know that there are people in the United States who do not agree with the actions of the United States' government.

Although the role of an election observer is one of neutrality, that does not mean that we are expected not to have political opinions. I will be honest; I see the FMLN winning at the polls as representing a real possibility for positive change in El Salvador. El Salvador would also join the wave of Latin American countries that have elected left-leaning governments in recent years, strengthening their collective ability to stand up to US economic imperialism. Because what the detention and deportation of international election observers suggests about electoral fraud and violence, and because the outcome of the election is so significant, there is more reason than ever to watch closely what will happen in El Salvador this Sunday.