By Robyn Marshall
and Margaret Gleeson
MEXICO CITY — The political violence in El Salvador intensified on February 24 with an attempt on the life of ex-Comandante Nidia Diaz. Diaz is a member of the national leadership of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) and a candidate for a parliamentary seat in the department of San Vicente.
"Persons unknown" used automatic weapons to shoot at the car in which Diaz was travelling. She escaped unhurt but her driver was hospitalised with gunshot wounds.
In the opinion of Juan Ramon Medrano, spokesperson of the FMLN, the ARENA government has made no attempt to disband the death squads. "Assassination attempts like today are used to intimidate the population, to prevent a possible victory for the left in the elections."
Francisco Jovel, secretary general of the Central American Workers Revolutionary Party (PRTC), demanded from the Cristiani government a guarantee of security for former rebel commanders now participating in the elections.
Jovel denounced the fact that the authorities had not investigated the assassinations of another two ex-comandantes, Francisco Velis and Mario Lopez, which occurred late last year. Velis and Lopez both belonged to the leadership of the PRTC.
The secretary general of the United Nations set up a commission on December 8, 1993, to investigate the murders that had taken place since January 1992. It is anticipated that its report will be made public in June. ONUSAL, the UN body overseeing the elections, has received statements on 46 assassinations, with 15 of these showing evidence of political motivation.
Under the peace accords were signed in January 1992, the death squads and other paramilitary groups were to be disbanded. The FMLN has put down its arms, but there is continuing evidence that the Cristiani forces have violated these agreements.
Salvadorans will choose a new president and vice-president, 84 deputies to the Congress, 262 municipal councillors and 20 deputies to the Central American parliament on March 20.
A survey of 1800 voters conducted by Jesuit priests from the University Institute of Public Opinion found that one in three Salvadorans think the elections will be fraudulent.
The FMLN has initiated a very strong propaganda campaign, with a new style by painting hundreds of murals in streets and avenues. They have been so successful that other parties have blanked them out with white paint.
The FMLN will need 14,000 scrutineers and 500 supervisors. On the day of the elections it will have to provide food for 35,000 persons who have been mobilised. The FMLN will also need $1 million to finance the second round of voting if this occurs.
Democratic Convergence presidential candidate Ruben Zamora visited Los Angeles and San Francisco in the US on February 24 to gain support for the campaign. Although he was optimistic that the elections would be the "first truly free elections in 70 years", he said that the possibility of technical fraud still exists with the thousands of Salvadorans being prevented from voting.
Some 400,000 applications for voter registration have been excluded, without any explanation, by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. "Because of this we are asking that an internal audit by carried out on the registration process and we will continue to press for this to happen", Zamora said.
"However for the first time they haven't excluded any of the political forces in El Salvador and we can count on the support and pressure from the international community", Zamora continued. The UN has promised to send 900 observers, which is a record.
"The re-emergence of political violence [the attack on Diaz] can destroy the democratic process of the elections through fear and intimidation", added Zamora.