Politics, Sister Cities
Split within the ARENA Party Provides Opportunities for the FMLN
by U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities
The ARENA party, recently ousted from the Executive Branch after almost 20 years controlling the Presidency, finds itself in the midst of internal divisions. On October 12th, the day after its General Assembly, 12 ARENA representatives to the Legislative Assembly announced their discontent with ARENA leadership and stated that they no longer feel represented by the party.
According to the newspaper El Faro: “12 Congressional Representatives have announced they will vote “differently” from the party even though they won’t actually leave. They are all Representatives connected to ex-president Antonio Saca and […] René Figueroa.” Since Alfredo Cristiani was renamed President of ARENA at the October 12th assembly, it is apparent that the disagreements spring from the divisions between the Cristiani school and Saca school within the party.
This division has created new opportunities within the Legislative Assembly for the FMLN. While the FMLN has the largest number of representatives in the Legislative Assembly (35), a coalition of the three right wing parties still forms a majority. However, when almost half (12 of 25) of its representatives voting against the party, ARENA can no longer block the initiatives presented by the left. That is why on November 6th, the Legislative Assembly approved the 2010 national budget, described as “reinforcement for social programs,” that had been presented by the Funes government. Without those 12 key ARENA dissidents, a national budget with an emphasis on social spending never would have made it through.
The divisions have also allowed for the restructuring of the directing committee of the Legislative Assembly. Previously, the presidency of the assembly had been given to Ciro Cruz Zepeda, of the right-wing PCN party. Now there will be a rotating presidency, where Cruz Zepeda will be president for 15 months and Sigfrido Reyes from the FMLN will be president for 15 months.
While these divisions have produced obvious advantages for the left, social movement leaders and party representatives are skeptical about how long they will last. As Rosa Centeno Valle, president of CRIPDES says, “the divisions within ARENA are bringing benefits to our country now, but we know that at any moment these 12 representatives could change their position, reunite with their party, and reform the right-wing block in the Legislative Assembly.”
For more information:
“ARENA’S darkest hour” – El Faro
