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        {"code":"26777","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"1164","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202303\/el_salvador\/26777","link_edit":"","name":"\u201cIf the FMLN runs for the presidency, it is doing Bukele\u2019s bidding\u201d","slug":"-ldquo-if-the-fmln-runs-for-the-presidency-it-is-doing-bukele-rsquo-s-bidding-rdquo-","info":"Historic FMLN leader Eugenio Chicas warns that if the leftist party participates in El Salvador\u2019s 2024 presidential elections it will divide the opposition. He fears the Frente\u2019s current leaders are looking to \u201ckill the Frente and turn over the corpse and banner to Bukele.\u201d","mtag":"Politics","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/jgavarrete'\u003E Julia Gavarrete\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"julia-gavarrete":{"sort":"jgavarrete","slug":"julia-gavarrete","path":"julia_gavarrete","name":"Julia Gavarrete","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1164","pict":{"cms-image-000038802-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38802","name":"cms-image-000038802.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038802.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038802.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038802-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Historic FMLN leader Eugenio Chicas argues that the leftist party should not propose a candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EHistoric FMLN leader Eugenio Chicas argues that the leftist party should not propose a candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038803-jpeg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38803","name":"cms-image-000038803.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038803.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038803.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038803-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Eugenio Chicas is one of the few leaders of the FMLN who gives interviews and directly criticizes the left-wing party that governed the country from 2009 to 2019. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EEugenio Chicas is one of the few leaders of the FMLN who gives interviews and directly criticizes the left-wing party that governed the country from 2009 to 2019. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38802,"date":{"live":"2023\/03\/22"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"03","data_post_dateLive_DD":"22","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202303\/el_salvador\/26773\/si-el-fmln-lleva-candidato-presidencial-esta-haciendo-el-juego-a-bukele\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEugenio Chicas is a former guerrilla fighter in the 1980s and historic leader of the Farabundo Mart\u00ed Front for National Liberation (FMLN). He presided over the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of El Salvador on behalf of the Frente and was communications secretary to former President Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n. He is also one of the few current party members who dare to speak clearly about the turmoil roiling the Frente.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EChicas accepts that during its two administrations, from 2009 to 2019, the FMLN failed to respond to citizens\u2019 needs and to those of its base, leading to electoral ruin in 2019 and 2021. Now, he says, the Frente is \u201ca dead man walking.\u201d The fractured party should not run a candidate in the presidential election next February, he asserts, instead letting its members support opposition proposals from civil society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe places the party\u2019s \u201cirrelevance\u201d in the opposition at the feet of Secretary General \u00d3scar Ortiz, but above all a man who he calls the \u201cpower in the shadows\u201d: Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino, the behind-the-scenes power broker who the U.S. State Department sanctioned in the \u2018Engel List\u2019 in June 2021 for alleged bribery and money laundering. Chicas thinks that Merino could let the party die and \u201chand over the corpse and banner to Bukele.\u201d He asserts that, if the FMLN enters the presidential race and divides the opposition, \u201cit will be a clear sign that they are in cahoots.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your outlook on the coming elections?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Frente will not die, but it is and will be irrelevant for the foreseeable future. It has an internal fissure that has profoundly weakened it. Those who think that it will begin a process of recovery are lost. The Frente\u2019s main role right now is not in the elections.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBut should we still consider it a political party?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELegally speaking, it is a political party. But it will not have an impact on the strategic exit to the crisis facing this country. It has no way to do so. My colleagues from the leadership will probably choose some candidate [for the 2024 presidential election], but it will be an unfortunate mistake. In the elections neither the Frente nor Arena should present a presidential candidate. This is the moment to construct a candidacy from civil society that can be coordinated, negotiated, put in motion in one, two, three small parties. The Frente and Arena should lead the legislative battle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EShould the Frente and Arena support whatever emerges from civil society?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThey should let the candidacy grow. They should be cautious about supporting it because it would be fatal for any candidate to be born under the auspices of Arena or the Frente. The parties should cede the space and let their members support and sympathize who they\u2019d like, but the leadership of the parties shouldn\u2019t get involved \u2014 on one hand, because it would become distorted, and on the other, because the parties aren\u2019t in conditions to come to an understanding. They never could understand each other historically, except for during the peace process, and they have since then been opposing forces. They should let society itself assume its role.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you know about the creation of a big-tent opposition alliance or coalition?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EI personally belong to the national directorate of Citizen Resistance. We are an association from civil society composed of people tied to the Frente, tied to Arena, and without previous political ties. We\u2019re critical of the Frente\u2026 I\u2019m a member of the Frente, but very critical of the current leadership. And yes, there have been conversations [about an opposition alliance].\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWould you participate under a single party or would this be similar to what we saw with Jos\u00e9 Napole\u00f3n Duarte\u2019s UNO coalition in 1972?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the Citizen Resistance we have launched an initiative to propose a presidential candidate to be considered by all of the opposition political parties. A candidacy assumed by parties like Vamos, Nuestro Tiempo, and FPS, without coalitions between the FMLN and Arena. They [the two latter parties] have expressly rejected the possibility. It can be a coalition of centrist parties. PA\u00cdS, the UNO [National Opposition Union], M\u00c1S [Authentic Salvadoran Movement], agricultural sectors, the Freedom Movement; and public figures like Rub\u00e9n Zamora, Jos\u00e9 Miguel Fort\u00edn, Eugenio Chicas, Federico Hernandez, and Ronald Uma\u00f1a, among others.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe FMLN legislative bloc, of four deputies, is split in two. Why is that?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Frente has three internal groups: The first, with the majority to coordinate, control, and capitalize on the Frente\u2019s brand, is tied to Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino. Of the 19 positions in the party\u2019s Political Commission, they have 12. Then there are those of us from the Revolutionary Socialist Current, represented in five seats. Then there is the third group, that of [current Secretary General] \u00d3scar Ortiz, with the remaining two seats. \u00d3scar tries to play his cards right as secretary general, but in reality he is subject to whatever Merino\u2019s majority establishes. Merino\u2019s people will have to answer for the quagmire facing the Frente.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBut Ortiz is at the head.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe has been unable to interpret the political period facing the country. He has been lukewarm in assessing Bukele has what he is: a dictator. From the start, this leadership tried to come to an understanding with Bukele, and to date I have not seen sufficiently critical stances.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf Ortiz has no decision-making power, why have him for a leader?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe was elected through 2024. The others were unwilling to clear out the offices and construct a consensus leadership able to lead this transition. The problem is that right now the leadership of the Frente is conveying nothing new to the public. We\u2019re seeing the whole debacle of the informal sector, comprising 62 percent of the economy, and what is the Frente\u2019s proposal? Where is their social struggle? We know that thousands of innocent young people have been imprisoned under the state of exception. Where is the struggle? I see the Popular Resistance and Rebellion Bloc, the MOVIR, getting together, orienting people, advising the family members of unjustly imprisoned young people. But where is the Frente?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHave you presented this criticism directly to Ortiz?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThese criticisms have been made at party events. But the Frente has become very self-absorbed. For all these months, what has the Frente been doing? Revising its statutes. Who in this country cares about the FMLN statutes as a political issue?! As Bukele consolidated his state of exception, Ortiz and my colleagues from the leadership have spent months reforming the statutes, navel-gazing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you think Ortiz should have already resigned?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAbandonment isn\u2019t the answer. Ortiz has sufficient political experience to sit down and reflect and find the responsible path. We won two governing periods, but lost power. We have to answer for that. We made mistakes in many regards, primarily in strategy, and we\u2019ve paid the political cost. They became the party leaders but haven\u2019t tied the party to the struggles of the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECan you be more specific about Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino\u2019s role?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe is the power behind the throne. He is the power. He is the person who corrupted Alba [Petr\u00f3leos], a project that was good for the country that Shafick [H\u00e1ndal] conceived to provide alternative resources to the municipalities. What Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino did among \u003Cem\u003Ecompadres\u003C\/em\u003E [friends], among people on the Right, was to hand out money until the project went under.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAmong those who received that money is Bukele.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBukele and people tied to him. The Anlikers, for example, also took advantage of Alba\u2019s resources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThis connection between Bukele and Merino, the person with the most power in the party \u2014 is it not enough to deduce that Bukele still has control and power inside the FMLN?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOf course; I think so. If the Frente does not take a critical stance, it\u2019s because it intentionally let itself become entranced by Bukele\u2019s supposed \u201canti-imperialism.\u201d They\u2019ve pulled in the base of the Frente with that tale.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did the FMLN\u2019s strategy fail while in power?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBecause the primary effort was to establish committees of national dialogue. The strategy was to, together with the U.N., create a second Chapultepec, a second peace accord. Why was that strategy misguided? Because it wasn\u2019t realistic given that Arena was obstructing all government initiatives. The Rosales Hospital, the airport expansion\u2026 Arena was coming from a place of distrust, of course, because we were the ones who, together with [Mauricio] Funes, created Gana. We conspired to divide Arena and to empower [Tony] Saca. Arena is divided, Gana emerges, and it was ingenuine to say, \u201cCome on, let\u2019s agree on a new peace process,\u201d but with the other hand I stab you in the back and divide your party. Arena and the Frente mutually annulled each other, tripped each other up. Where should we have forged alliances? With the social and popular sectors, with the historic base of the Frente. Why was our pension reform so lukewarm? Because it wasn\u2019t connected to the base, but rather to an understanding among leaders. And people looked at us and said, \u201cYou offered me change and failed to deliver,\u201d and then turned their backs on us.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E    \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38803 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Eugenio Chicas is one of the few leaders of the FMLN who gives interviews and directly criticizes the left-wing party that governed the country from 2009 to 2019. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Eugenio Chicas is one of the few leaders of the FMLN who gives interviews and directly criticizes the left-wing party that governed the country from 2009 to 2019. Photo: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWe\u2019re in part where we are because of your decision to expel Bukele from the FMLN.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIt was the right decision. If the Frente hadn\u2019t expelled Bukele at that moment, he would have taken over the party and this state of exception would have been mounted under the FMLN banner.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThere are those who think that if the Frente hadn\u2019t expelled Bukele, he wouldn\u2019t have been ready to participate in time for the 2019 elections.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe would have always found a way to launch his candidacy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe leadership has never acknowledged that you grew distant from your base and that there were officials who, during the ten years in power, were just as corrupt as the Right.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWe were not exemplary in terms of avoiding corruption. There was no clear example set for people to say, \u201cthis government will not permit it.\u201d Abandonment of the base is a political effect of strategy. Being with the base isn\u2019t going to visit; it\u2019s resolving their problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat should have been the FMLN\u2019s stance, for example, in cases like Alba and Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino, after learning about the off-shore accounts and tax haven in Panama?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMy public position is that some time ago Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino should have been separated from the FMLN and been made to respond legally for the judicial problems that those companies may face. The Frente must separate itself from that blunder.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWho should lead the party today?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn politics, the old maxim that the new generation should step forward and the old guard step aside doesn\u2019t work. What should occur, as I have asserted from the start, is a consensus leadership. For example, if I was in the previous government, I shouldn\u2019t be part of the new leadership of the Frente because I\u2019m part of the problem. But I can contribute from the grassroots. But while the FMLN continues to talk of internal affairs, the high cost of living and of the egg are eating away at people\u2026 Taking the helm of a political party implies correctly interpreting the issues that interest people in that political period.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDo you believe that there is an intention among the leadership to let the FMLN die?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the case of Jos\u00e9 Luis Merino, I don\u2019t know. I have my doubts. I\u2019m inclined to think that he is looking to kill the Frente and turn over the corpse and banner to Bukele.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAnd what would happen to the FMLN if it does not obtain sufficient support in the coming elections?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe grassroots machine, the organized base, of the FMLN is fairly large. We would have enough to continue breathing as a party, in the worst of cases. The problem is being a dead man walking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIs the FMLN a dead man walking?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOf course. That\u2019s the problem. Having the inscription and being irrelevant in the management of the main problems facing this country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIn December the party announced that it will participate in all of the electoral contests, including for the presidency.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENo, that\u2019s not exactly true.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThere are already members who are promoting their pre-candidacies.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENo, all of this from [Chinito] Flores is his own invention that he is going around running some grand campaign. Today what the party decided is an enigma: \u201cWe\u2019re heading for the elections [but] we\u2019re not going to join forces with Arena, nor with Gana, nor with Nuevas Ideas.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWith whom, then?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENothing was said about civil society. The resolution does not oblige the Frente to present a presidential candidate. It can. But if it decides to do so, it will be the best proof that they are doing Bukele\u2019s bidding. To present a candidate from the Left is to divide the opposition. The best signal that the Frente could give to contribute to a united opposition is to not present a candidate. If they launch a candidacy, it will be a clear sign that they are in cahoots [with Bukele].\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf they participate, are they signing off on illegal reelection?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIf the opposition does not participate in these elections, it leaves Bukele with an open playing field. Whether there are opposition parties or not, he will run. If you leave an open space, another body will fill it. There is no need to fear this dictatorship. You have to confront it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYou talk of the need to \u201cconfront this dictatorship.\u201d But the two former FMLN presidents, Mauricio Funes and Salvador S\u00e1nchez Cer\u00e9n, have sought the protection of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua. They have embraced a regime not far off from the one that they criticize. Is that not hypocritical?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EI respect those who have left. Others have left for Mexico, or for Europe. Everyone weighs with their family the path to take. I wouldn\u2019t venture a criticism.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAgain: It seems that the Frente does not treat the Nicaraguan regime with the same critical stance that you are adopting in this country.\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENor have I seen a stance on the departure of the political prisoners. What is happening in Nicaragua is grave. In Venezuela, in Bolivia, in any of these countries, but they are very different processes. The human effects are quite similar, but Bukele is something else. Bukele\u2026 who knows what he will be.\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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