Nationalist Republican Alliance
The Nationalist Republican Alliance (Spanish: Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative,[7] center-right[8][9] to right-wing[11][12][13][14] political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itself as a political institution constituted to defend the democratic, republican, and representative system of government, the social market economy system and nationalism.
Nationalist Republican Alliance Alianza Republicana Nacionalista | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | ARENA |
| President | Carlos García Saade[1] |
| Founder | Roberto D'Aubuisson |
| Founded | 30 September 1981 |
| Registered | 4 December 1981 |
| Headquarters | Prolongación Calle Arce, entre 45 y 47 av N. #2429. Col. Flor Blanca, San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Youth wing | Nationalist Republican Youth |
| Membership (2019) | 127,543[2] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Center-right[8][9] to right-wing[10][11][12][13][14] Historical: Far-right[15] |
| Regional affiliation | Union of Latin American Parties[16] |
| International affiliation | International Democrat Union |
| Colors |
|
| Slogan |
|
| Anthem | Marcha de ARENA |
| Seats in the Legislative Assembly | 11 / 84 |
| Municipalities | 26 / 262 |
| Seats in PARLACEN | 3 / 20 |
| Party flag | |
| Website | |
| https://arena.org.sv | |
ARENA controlled the National Assembly of El Salvador until 1985, and its party leader Alfredo Cristiani was elected to the presidency in 1989. ARENA controlled the presidency from 1989 until 2009. The party gained a plurality in the Legislative Assembly in 2012.
History edit
The Nationalist Republican Alliance was founded on 30 September 1981 during the Salvadoran Civil War. The party's membership at the time of its establishment consisted of primarily members of the Salvadoran Nationalist Movement (MNS) and the National Broad Front (FAN) who were dissatisfied with the government of the ruling Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG), as well of the preceding government of the National Conciliation Party (PCN).[17] Its founding leader was Roberto D'Aubuisson, a former major in the Salvadoran Army who was most well-known for commanding various death squads and ordering the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero in 1980.[18] At the time, ARENA was considered to be a far-right political party.[19]
The party arose in response to "the insurgency of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN, a group that united peasant farmers, unionists and intellectuals, which tried, through arms, to overthrow the dictatorship and to install a state regime inspired by the governments of revolutionary Cuba and Sandinista Nicaragua".[citation needed]
The ideology the party claims to believe in is a system of democratic and representative government, emphasizing individual rights, the family as the nucleus of society and the respect for private property.
In February 2007, three ARENA politicians were murdered in Guatemala, including Eduardo D'Aubuisson, the son of party founder Roberto D'Aubuisson, in what was considered by the police as a crime related to drugs.[20][21]
In 2009, ARENA took out a full-page ad in a Salvadoran newspaper calling on President Mauricio Funes to recognise the interim Honduran government of Roberto Micheletti installed after the military had expelled President Manuel Zelaya.[citation needed]
On 21 July 2022, Gustavo López Davidson, the leader of ARENA from August 2019 to February 2020, committed suicide amidst an ongoing investigation against him for embezzlement and arms trafficking.[22][23]
Structure edit
The highest authority of the party ARENA is the Comité Ejecutivo Nacionalista (COENA, "Nationalist Executive Committee"), which consists of 13 members. The members must be re-elected annually through the General Assembly of ARENA members.[original research?]
In addition to the COENA, there are 14 Directors-in-Chief, one for each department and departmental councils called "Juntas Directivas Conjuntas" to coordinate political work in their respective department. In each department, a director is chosen who works with a specific member of COENA. The director's role is to organize and co-ordinate electoral campaigns and help the councils form party structures in the municipalities of their departments.[original research?]
On 19 February 2013, Jorge Velado assumed the position as president of COENA, in a party leadership shake-up aimed at re-energizing a stale organization tainted by its association with the violent death squads of the 1980s, widespread corruption and the switch to the U.S. dollar as the national currency.
Electoral record edit
At the legislative elections held on 16 March 2003, the party won 32.0% of the popular vote and 27 out of 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly. ARENA's successful candidate in El Salvador's 2004 presidential election was Antonio Saca. On 21 March 2004, Saca defeated Schafik Hándal, the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), by a margin of 58% to 36% with 70% turnout. He was sworn in as president the following 1 June.
In the 12 March 2006 legislative election, the party won 39.4% of the popular vote and 32 out of 84 seats. At the 18 January 2009 legislative elections, the party received 38.55% of the vote, and again won 32 of the 84 seats.
On 15 March 2009, ARENA candidate Rodrigo Ávila lost the presidential election to Mauricio Funes of the FMLN. After elections, the party president was changed to Alfredo Cristiani.[citation needed]
On 9 March 2014 Salvador Sánchez Cerén of FMLN narrowly defeated the ARENA candidate Norman Quijano by 0.2% in a run-off vote in a controversial election.[24]
ARENA also lost both 2019 presidential election and 2021 legislative election dominated by Nuevas Ideas, the party of current president Nayib Bukele.[25][26]
Electoral history edit
Presidential elections edit
| Election | Candidate | First round | Second round | Result | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| 1982 | Hugo César Barrera | 17[a] | 32.08% | — | Lost | ||
| 1984 | Roberto D'Aubuisson | 376,917 | 29.77% | 651,741 | 46.41% | [27] | |
| 1989 | Alfredo Cristiani | 505,370 | 53.82% | — | Elected | [28] | |
| 1994 | Armando Calderón Sol | 641,108 | 49.03% | 818,264 | 68.35% | [28] | |
| 1999 | Francisco Flores | 614,268 | 51.96% | — | [29] | ||
| 2004 | Antonio Saca | 1,314,436 | 57.71% | — | [30] | ||
| 2009 | Rodrigo Ávila | 1,284,588 | 48.68% | — | Lost | [31] | |
| 2014 | Norman Quijano | 1,047,592 | 38.96% | 1,489,451 | 49.89% | [32] | |
| 2019 | Carlos Calleja | 857,084 | 31.72% | — | [25] | ||
| 2024 | Joel Sánchez | 177,881 | 5.57% | — | [33] | ||
Legislative Assembly elections edit
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| Election | Votes | % | Position | Seats | +/– | Status in legislature | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 430,205 | 29.28% | 2nd | 19 / 60 | 19 | Opposition | [34] |
| 1985 | 286,665 | 29.70% | 13 / 60 | 6 | Opposition | [35] | |
| 1988 | 447,696 | 48.10% | 1st | 31 / 60 | 18 | Opposition | [36] |
| 1991 | 466,091 | 44.33% | 39 / 84 | 8 | Government | [36] | |
| 1994 | 605,775 | 45.03% | 39 / 84 | 0 | Government | [37] | |
| 1997 | 396,301 | 35.40% | 28 / 84 | 11 | Government | [37] | |
| 2000 | 436,169 | 36.04% | 29 / 84 | 1 | Government | [38] | |
| 2003 | 446,233 | 31.90% | 2nd | 27 / 84 | 1 | Government | [38] |
| 2006 | 620,117 | 39.40% | 34 / 84 | 7 | Government | [39] | |
| 2009 | 854,166 | 38.55% | 32 / 84 | 2 | Opposition | [40] | |
| 2012 | 620,117 | 39.40% | 34 / 84 | 2 | Opposition | [41] | |
| 2015 | 885,374 | 38.90% | 1st | 32 / 84 | 2 | Opposition | [42] |
| 2018 | 886,365 | 41.72% | 37 / 84 | 5 | Opposition | [43] | |
| 2021 | 305,108 | 12.22% | 2nd | 14 / 84 | 23 | Opposition | [44] |
| 2024 | 227,357 | 7.29 | 2nd | 2 / 60 | 12 | Opposition | [45] |
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ The 1982 presidential election was determined by the Legislative Assembly rather than through a popular vote.
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ "Político Salvadoreño Descarta Eventual Alianza Entre ARENA y FMLN Para Derrotar a Bukele" [Salvadoran Politician Dismisses Eventual Alliance between ARENA and FMLN to Defeat Bukele]. El País (in Spanish). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Velásquez, Eugenia (29 August 2019). "Padrón de Afiliados de ARENA Bajaría de 127,543 a 60,000" [Register of ARENA Affiliates Could Drop from 127,543 to 60,000]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), "Conclusion", Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 286, ISBN 9780801863868
- ^ Bounds, Andrew (2001), "El Salvador: History", South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002, Routledge, p. 384, ISBN 9781857431216
- ^ Van Der Lijn, Jair (2006), Walking the Tightrope: Do UN peacekeeping operations actually contribute to durable peace?, Rozenberg Publishers, p. 252, ISBN 9036100372
- ^ Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), "Introduction", Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 26, ISBN 9780801863868
- ^ a b "El Salvador's presidential election: A nation divided", The Economist, 12 March 2009
- ^ a b "El Salvador, Prizing Water Over Gold, Bans All Metal Mining". New York Times. 29 March 2017.
the center-right Arena party
- ^ a b "Candidate of Palestine origin wins Salvador presidency". Middle East Monitor. 4 February 2019.
the center-right Nationalist Republican Alliance
- ^ Haggerty 1990, p. 44.
- ^ a b Beetham, David (2002), "El Salvador", The State of Democracy, Kluwer Law International, p. 27, ISBN 9789041119315
- ^ a b Wood, Elisabeth J. (2000), "Civil War and the Transformation of Elite Representation in El Salvador", Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 243, ISBN 9780801863868
- ^ a b "El Salvador", The Europa World Year Book 2008, Taylor & Francis, p. 1649, 2008
- ^ a b Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), "ARENA", Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups, Greenwood Press, p. 24, ISBN 9780313324857
- ^ Central Intelligence Agency 2013, p. 5.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Monti, Caterina; Granados, Ciro (29 September 2006). [The Tricolor Footprint]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ Brockett 2005, p. 240.
- ^ Directorate of Intelligence 2011, pp. 13–14.
- ^ "CICIG determinó que asesinato de diputados fue por drogas".
- ^ "$5 Million Dollars and 20 Kilos of Cocaine". 18 November 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
- ^ "Hallan Muerto a Empresario Gustavo López Davidson" [They Found Businessman Gustavo López Davidson Dead]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Gustavo López Davidson, Atilio Benítez y David Munguía Detenidos por Peculado en Caso de Armas" [Gustavo López Davidson, Atilio Benítez and David Munguía Detained in Peculation of Arms Case]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 14 August 2020. from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Ex-rebel becomes el Salvador leader". BBC News. June 2014.
- ^ a b Supreme Electoral Court [@TSEElSalvador] (7 February 2019). "Resultados (Elección Presidencial de 2019)" [Results (2019 Presidential Election)] (Tweet) (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador. from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Harrison, Chase (31 May 2022). "In El Salvador, a Chastened Opposition Looks to Find Its Way". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ Nohlen 2005, p. 289.
- ^ a b Nohlen 2005, p. 290.
- ^ Nohlen 2005, p. 291.
- ^ Supreme Electoral Court 2004, p. 110.
- ^ Supreme Electoral Court 2009, p. 87.
- ^ Supreme Electoral Court 2014, pp. 131 & 144.
- ^ "En Vivo: Cierre de Escrutinio Final de la Elección de Presidente y Vicepresidente 2024" [Live: The Final Tally of the 2024 Election for President and Vice President Closes]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ Nohlen 2005, p. 281.
- ^ Nohlen 2005, pp. 283 & 286.
- ^ a b Nohlen 2005, pp. 284 & 286.
- ^ a b Nohlen 2005, pp. 285–286.
- ^ a b Nohlen 2005, p. 286.
- ^ Supreme Electoral Court 2006.
- ^ Supreme Electoral Court 2009, p. 196.
- ^ "Legislative Election Results – El Salvador Totals". Election Resources.org. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Elecciones 2015" [2015 Elections] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ [2018 Elections]. Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Elecciones 2021 – Diputados y Diputadas para Asamblea Legislativa" [2021 Elections – Deputies for the Legislative Assembly] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). March 2021. (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
- ^ Jordán, Laura; Hernández, Alejandra (18 February 2024). "TSE Anuncia que Terminó de Escrutar los Votos para Diputados" [TSE Announces it Completed Counting the Votes for Deputy]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
Bibliography edit
- Brockett, Charles D. (2005). Tarrow, Sidney (ed.). Political Movements and Violence in Central America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521600552. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- "Consolidado Nacional de las Actas del Escrutinio Final – Elecciones para Diputados del Año 2006" [National Consolidation of the Acts of the Final Scrutiny – Elections for Deputies of the Year 2006] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 17 March 2013. pp. 1–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- Haggerty, Richard A., ed. (1990). El Salvador: A Country Study (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. OCLC 44362656.
- "Memorial Especial – Elección Presidencial 2004" [Special Memory – 2004 Presidential Election] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). June 2004. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- "Memorial Especial – Elecciones 2009" [Special Memory – 2009 Elections] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). June 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- "Memorial Especial – Elecciones 2014" [Special Memory – 2014 Elections] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- Nohlen, Dieter (2005). Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1: North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780191557934. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
External links edit
- (in Spanish)
- (in Spanish)