Upcoming Presidential Election Has ‘No Focus, No Interest,’ Some Say : El Salvador Vote Obscured by War--and Peace

A dead dog lay on top of a political slogan still wet from having been sprayed in the middle of the street. The mixture of gore and blue paint smeared the message, just as a blend of war and peace has obscured the point of El Salvador’s presidential election campaign.

After months of campaigning--and with next Sunday’s first round of balloting now less than a week away--there is “no focus, no interest,” in the words of a European diplomat.

Six months ago, someone predicting such a situation would have shocked political leaders and observers. The 1989 election was seen then as probably the first in modern Salvadoran history that would be honest and provide a forum for a full range of ideological views.

Interest was sparked by the likelihood that the winner would be a party with a reputation of hard-line right-wing politics mixed with a record of serious human rights abuses and a view that the United States was pushing a socialist solution to Salvadoran problems.

Blurred Focus

The current blurred focus stems from two months of proposals and counterproposals, verbal pushing and shoving and tactical maneuvering over an offer by Marxist revolutionaries to end their nine-year guerrilla war in exchange for a six-month postponement of the election.

As a result, the interest that might have been attached to the nation’s first presidential election in which the entire political spectrum--from ultra-right to socialist left--is fielding candidates has faded into fascination over the prospect that peace is a serious possibility.

But this carried with it the dread that failure of the peace process would lead not only to more of the war that has killed at least 45,000--but war at an even more fearful pace. This fear was underlined by the sporadic yet heavy fighting that continued throughout the negotiations.

“With people hoping for peace and frightened about more war, it would be surprising if the normal cut and thrust of who’s the most corrupt or who’ll get better coffee prices commanded any attention at all,” said a European diplomat.

Adding to the confusion was the bizarre circumstance that two of the major parties, the Christian Democratic Party and the Democratic Convergence, argued up to the last minute that the election should be postponed, although for differing periods.

Boycott Urged

The situation became even fuzzier when the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, the umbrella group for the five Marxist guerrilla organizations, called for a boycott of the election, even though the rebels back the Democratic Convergence.

But even the collapse of the peace process has brought little more than indifference from the public.

This past weekend saw the final mass effort by the 13 parties contesting the vote, but turnouts were small and unenthusiastic.

For example, a mass march by the ultra-rightist Nationalist Republican Alliance, or Arena party, was advertised in advance as likely to bring 100,000 people into San Salvador’s main downtown square.

At best, 20,000 came, and they showed little of the spirit that has marked past rallies of the party expected to easily win the first round and likely to take the presidency when a runoff is held next month.

Street Festival

The Christian Democratic Party, which won the presidential election in 1984 and is running second this time, staged a street festival over the weekend. Among the thousands of people who ignored this closing campaign event was the candidate, Fidel Chavez Mena. Party leaders said they decided to concentrate instead on television ads.

The Democratic Convergence, a coalition of non-Marxist socialist and moderately leftist parties, is planning a mass rally Wednesday, the last day of formal campaigning, but if its record of poor turnouts holds, this too will be disappointing.

Experts predict that this lack of electoral fervor will be reflected in the Sunday turnout. While about 1.9 million people are eligible to vote, most observers think that no more than 1.2 million will show up, although voting is mandatory here.

The turnout could be lower. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front originally said that it would not interfere militarily with the voting. But it now has decided to back up its call for an election boycott with a transportation strike.

‘Add Fear to Indifference’

In past elections, this has meant attacking buses, trucks, taxis and even private cars taking people to the polls. “Add fear to indifference,” said a Western diplomat, “and you don’t have a lot of people voting.”

The inability to attract attention isn’t for a lack of trying by the parties, at least as measured by the amount of money spent.

Party officials say that the Christian Democratic Party has spent about $6 million, not including the full use of the government apparatus including official vehicles to haul government workers to rallies.

Arena has spent about $5 million, according to most estimates, and has an addition $3 million set aside for the second round, nearly all of it provided by the coffee plantation owners and other well-to-do business executives who founded the party to oppose the centrist Christian Democratic Party when it proposed a modest land reform.

The odd one out in the spending flurry is the Democratic Convergence which, according to its presidential candidate Guillermo Ungo, has raised $200,000.

If a single factor could account for the voter indifference, though, it might be the candidates.

Heading the Arena ticket is Alfredo Cristiani, a 42-year-old coffee grower, who was pushed into leadership by party elders and the U.S. Embassy as an antidote to the perception that Arena was the murderous home of death squads.

‘Dull as Door Knob’

Beyond the widespread doubts that the Georgetown University-educated Cristiani is little more than a figurehead for rabid rightists, the candidate “is dull as a door knob,” in the words of a Western diplomat.

His platform manner wooden, his speech flat and his message more attuned to a Chamber of Commerce audience, Cristiani is often almost ignored at rallies in favor of the fire-eating style of Roberto D’Aubuisson, a former army major accused of links to death squads and a founder of Arena.

His Christian Democratic counterpart, Chavez Mena, is an even less likely candidate in a country where old-fashioned stump speaking is prized by the voters, who count emotion as more valuable coin than logic or content.

Chavez Mena, who made his way up in the party as a government technician, is even more uncomfortable in public than Cristiani, often appearing at rallies in a blue suit to speak to people who would rather wear barbed wire than a necktie.

“Fidel’s speeches are like listening to a record playing at too low a speed,” said one diplomat friendly to his candidacy.

Not that Ungo, the self-described candidate of the people, is any more exciting. He speaks in a high pitch that sounds like a whine when he tries to be exciting.

All of this is reflected in the latest polls. Arena, fueled by better organization and a solid membership of 500,000, is favored with 27%, followed by the Christian Democratic Party with 18% and the Democratic Convergence with 4%.

But the largest bloc is the undecided and those who refuse to tell pollsters their preference--39%.

“This is an election like the old joke,” said a European diplomat. “What if they gave an election and nobody came?”