Zamora Urges Political Salvador Solution

Leftist political leader Ruben Zamora safely ended a 10-day return from exile Wednesday and said he is more convinced than ever that the only way to end an eight-year civil war here is to negotiate a settlement between the Salvadoran government and his guerrilla allies.

The guerrillas “have to be part of our political reality, but they are not the only reality,” Zamora said at the airport before leaving for his home in Managua. “We have to move towards a political solution to the war.”

Zamora and Guillermo Ungo, leaders of the civilian Revolutionary Democratic Front, made the trip to El Salvador to test the waters for organizing a legal, leftist opposition. Both have lived in exile for seven years and maintain an alliance with the armed Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front.

At various times, Zamora termed the visit tense, animated and exhausting. He said he plans to return early next year with Ungo, who left on Saturday for Panama.

Ungo and Zamora say they will not break their ties with the Marxist-led guerrillas, despite warnings from the government and the U.S. Embassy that they must do so if they are to continue working in the country. The government believes that the rebels should put down their arms and face elections.

A U.S. official called Ungo and Zamora courageous for returning to the country that they fled in 1980 because of extensive right-wing political violence, but he added that they “are contributing to the threats against them as long as they are in the alliance with the guerrillas.”

Many diplomats, political analysts and even some members of the ruling Christian Democratic Party view the rebel politicians as a potential bridge in a highly polarized country and see their return to national political life as a key step toward ending the war.

The message of national unity that the politicians brought to university and trade union audiences was more moderate than many had expected, and they seemed to strike a positive chord with the groups that they reached. While still arguing for a transition government that includes the guerrillas, Zamora also spoke of the need for political pluralism, with general elections that include the entire political spectrum.

Both men hammered away at President Jose Napoleon Duarte’s dependence on the United States, a nationalistic refrain that is heard increasingly here. At the same time, Zamora spoke against class struggle, which is a battle cry of his guerrilla allies.

The politicians’ alliance with the guerrillas is at once their greatest strength and their greatest weakness. The guerrillas are the force behind the Revolutionary Democratic Front, known by its Spanish initials FDR. They not only have guns, but they currently have a larger political base than the FDR, which is made up of two small parties--Ungo’s Revolutionary National Movement and Zamora’s Popular Social Christian Movement.

At some point, the FDR will likely begin to compete with the rebels for political support inside the country.

The return of Zamora and Ungo lends legitimacy to government claims of democracy, even though Zamora credits the rebel war rather than the Duarte government with forcing democratic and human rights improvements.

The powerful Salvadoran military, meanwhile, views Ungo and Zamora as fronts for the guerrillas.

Extreme rightists agree. They have publicly denounced the politicians’ return and privately issued telephone death threats, party workers said. The two leaders wore bullet-proof vests while they were here and took strict security precautions.

After seven years in exile, Ungo and Zamora are clearly starting from scratch to build their political parties. Whether out of fear, lack of organization or lack of support, a public rally that Ungo and Zamora held Sunday to announce a new alliance with the legal Social Democratic Party drew only 250 people.