EL SALVADOR: "New-look" congress begins to yield results
President Mauricio Funes and his ruling left-wing Frente Farabundo
Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN) are beginning to reap the benefits of
the recent schism in the main rightwing opposition Alianza Republicana
Nacionalista (Arena) [WR-09-43]. The subsequent changes in the legislative
directorate have strengthened the FMLN's hand in congress, and the ease with
which the 2010 state budget was passed illustrated Funes' extra room for
manoeuvre.
On 31 October legislators voted to expand the
11-seat congressional directorate by two seats in order to represent the Arena
rebel bloc, now known as the Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional (Gana). The
Gana is now the third most significant grouping in the 84-seat congress, with 12
legislators, after the FMLN, with 35 and Arena, now with 20. Both new seats went
to the Gana, while the Arena lost one of its three seats to the now Gana member,
Guillermo Gallegos. The FMLN, which has three directorate seats, also took
an additional seat from the rightwing Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC) during
the negotiations. Also approved was the decision to rotate the congress
leadership between the rightwing Partido de Conciliación Nacional (PCN) - which
has ten votes and currently holds the presidency - and the FMLN, serving to
further bolster the influence of the ruling party.
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