Strengthening the Tenets of Democracy
College students across the United States were energized by last year’s presidential election,
flocking to the polls in unprecedented numbers. According to The Center for Information and
Research in Civic Learning and Engagement, almost 23 million Americans under the age of 30 voted,
making a major impact on what is recognized as one of the nation’s most historic elections. For
many of these young people, the 2008 election was a vital primer on American democracy.
Shortly after our own presidential
inauguration, a group of 20 students and faculty members from Dominican University had the
opportunity to witness democracy in action overseas when they served as monitors for the
presidential election in El Salvador. The students had the unique experience of being part of the
first peaceful transition of power in the country’s turbulent political history.
“In the past, when opposition parties threatened the supremacy of ARENA (the right-wing National Republican Alliance), there was an immediate military coup,” explains Christina Perez, associate professor of sociology and the organizer of the trip. “But after 20 years of living under a monopolistic power, there was a great yearning for change. Mauricio Funes, a candidate of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) represented that change.”
According to Perez, who first visited the country in 1988, El Salvador is still feeling the effects of the 12-year civil war that erupted in 1980 following the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the murder of four American churchwomen. The war, which pitted the right-wing ARENA against a coalition of guerilla units under the umbrella of the FMLN, ended in 1992 when the United Nations brokered a cease fire and negotiated the signing of a peace accord. More than 75,000 people were killed or “disappeared” during the war and the country’s economy and ecology is still recovering.
Several days before the election on March 15, the students received an in-depth orientation to El Salvador’s political history and social and economic conditions by visiting with community organizations and women’s groups, meeting with politicians, and attending political rallies and debates. They were then assigned to five different municipalities around the country. Some students served in the urban capital of San Salvador and others stayed with residents in rural communities throughout the countryside.
Election day started before the break of
dawn, at 4:00 a.m., when the group met with local volunteers to set up polling places. Under the
auspices of the Center for Exchange and Solidarity, the students compiled information indicating
whether or not the polls opened and closed on time, if registered voters had a chance to vote, if
propaganda was kept out of polling places and if campaigning was absent. They also observed the
counting of votes. Following the election, the students submitted written reports to El Salvador’s
electoral tribunal.
The students indicated that they did witness irregularities, including illegal voting by Guatemalans and Hondurans, many of whom had been bussed into the country and promised jobs in exchange for their vote. According to Perez, foreigners were offered as much as $60 for their vote.
“The point of sending international observers to El Salvador was not to affect the ultimate outcome of the election or to ‘fix’ anything but to provide transparency and security, and to build trust and support for the democratic process,” explains Perez.
Many of the students expressed the belief that President Obama’s election in the U.S. encouraged people in El Salvador and around the world. “One woman I met talked about how the U.S. had changed because he was elected,” recalls Cicely Bonilla, an English/women’s studies major. “ They’re very aware of our situation, and I think it brought them hope, too.”
After the election, the students
witnessed the jubilation felt by many El Salvadorans at the prospect of change in their country. “
San Salvador went crazy with fireworks and rallies that night,” says Maryann Dreas, a journalism
and political science major who wrote about the trip in the
Dominican Star student newspaper. “It was like our Obama-mania, only with a deeper social
and economic impact.”
“This was an extraordinary experience for our students. I believe that they returned with a greater appreciation for our own democratic process,” says Perez.
Shortly after our own presidential
inauguration, a group of 20 students and faculty members from Dominican University had the
opportunity to witness democracy in action overseas when they served as monitors for the
presidential election in El Salvador. The students had the unique experience of being part of the
first peaceful transition of power in the country’s turbulent political history.
“In the past, when opposition parties threatened the supremacy of ARENA (the right-wing National Republican Alliance), there was an immediate military coup,” explains Christina Perez, associate professor of sociology and the organizer of the trip. “But after 20 years of living under a monopolistic power, there was a great yearning for change. Mauricio Funes, a candidate of the FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) represented that change.”
According to Perez, who first visited the country in 1988, El Salvador is still feeling the effects of the 12-year civil war that erupted in 1980 following the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the murder of four American churchwomen. The war, which pitted the right-wing ARENA against a coalition of guerilla units under the umbrella of the FMLN, ended in 1992 when the United Nations brokered a cease fire and negotiated the signing of a peace accord. More than 75,000 people were killed or “disappeared” during the war and the country’s economy and ecology is still recovering.
Several days before the election on March 15, the students received an in-depth orientation to El Salvador’s political history and social and economic conditions by visiting with community organizations and women’s groups, meeting with politicians, and attending political rallies and debates. They were then assigned to five different municipalities around the country. Some students served in the urban capital of San Salvador and others stayed with residents in rural communities throughout the countryside.
Election day started before the break of
dawn, at 4:00 a.m., when the group met with local volunteers to set up polling places. Under the
auspices of the Center for Exchange and Solidarity, the students compiled information indicating
whether or not the polls opened and closed on time, if registered voters had a chance to vote, if
propaganda was kept out of polling places and if campaigning was absent. They also observed the
counting of votes. Following the election, the students submitted written reports to El Salvador’s
electoral tribunal.
The students indicated that they did witness irregularities, including illegal voting by Guatemalans and Hondurans, many of whom had been bussed into the country and promised jobs in exchange for their vote. According to Perez, foreigners were offered as much as $60 for their vote.
“The point of sending international observers to El Salvador was not to affect the ultimate outcome of the election or to ‘fix’ anything but to provide transparency and security, and to build trust and support for the democratic process,” explains Perez.
Many of the students expressed the belief that President Obama’s election in the U.S. encouraged people in El Salvador and around the world. “One woman I met talked about how the U.S. had changed because he was elected,” recalls Cicely Bonilla, an English/women’s studies major. “ They’re very aware of our situation, and I think it brought them hope, too.”
After the election, the students
witnessed the jubilation felt by many El Salvadorans at the prospect of change in their country. “
San Salvador went crazy with fireworks and rallies that night,” says Maryann Dreas, a journalism
and political science major who wrote about the trip in the
Dominican Star student newspaper. “It was like our Obama-mania, only with a deeper social
and economic impact.”
“This was an extraordinary experience for our students. I believe that they returned with a greater appreciation for our own democratic process,” says Perez.
