The 'pink tide' takes hold of Central America

At last, after almost 20years of right wing political control, Salvadoreans give a chance to the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). In this way, the left achieves in peace what it did not manage in war.

According to the latest polls, the FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes obtained more than 51 per cent of the vote against 48 per cent for his opponent of the Arena party, Rodrigo Avila. He has accepted defeat.

Thus begins a new chapter in Salvadorean politics and in the politics of Central America that were gripped by civil war in the 1980s. In El Salvador alone, the conflict cost the lives of tens of thousands during almost two decades of war ended in 1991.

Mauricio Funes is the first FMLN presidential candidate with no direct involvement in the war. He is a well-known TV journalist who has stressed his moderate views and intends to implement a process of change that includes, amongst other things, excellent relations with the US.