Join us for a colloquy on El Salvador
sponsored by the Center for Democracy in the Americas
Funes and the FMLN win in El Salvador:
An historic transition for El Salvador and U.S. policy
Featuring eye witness accounts of the election by
Mark L. Schneider
Senior Vice President and Special Advisor on Latin America,
the International Crisis Group
Jim Swigert
Senior Associate and Regional Director for Latin America and
Caribbean Programs, the National Democratic Institute
Joseph Eldridge
University Chaplain of American University
Comments by
Hon. James P. McGovern
U.S. Representative, Massachusetts’ 3rd District
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
9:15 am – 10:30 am
The Mott House
122 Maryland Ave, NE
Washington, DC
The FMLN, El Salvador's former rebel party, recently won its first
presidential election, ending two decades of rule by the ARENA party.
Mauricio Funes, the candidate of the FMLN, a former CNN en Español
correspondent, beat ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila by 2.6 percent in
the March 15th election.
March 24th also marks the 29th anniversary of the assassination of
Archbishop Oscar Romero. In 1980, Romero was gunned down by members of
the Salvadoran military while saying Mass in San Salvador.
Come to discuss and analyze what this historic transition means for El
Salvador, the region, and U.S. policy.
Mark L. Schneider is Senior Vice President and Special Advisor on
Latin America at the International Crisis Group, an international
conflict prevention non-governmental organization, and directs its
Washington office. Schneider served as the United States Peace Corps
Director, 1999-2001, Assistant Administrator at USAID responsible for
Latin America and the Caribbean, 1993-99 where he was heavily involved
in overseeing post conflict reconstruction and stabilization programs
in Central America, principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
Human Rights, 1977-79, and foreign policy advisor to Senator Edward M.
Kennedy, 1970-76. From 1981 to 1993, Schneider headed strategic
planning at PAHO/WHO. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador
after earning a B.A. from UC-Berkeley and M.A. from San Jose State
University.
****
Jim Swigert manages NDI's democratic development programs in Latin
America and the Caribbean. NDI, presently with offices in Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Peru and Venezuela, has been involved in political party training,
civic organizing and election monitoring throughout the hemisphere.
Before joining NDI in 2005, Mr. Swigert spent 30 years as a career
diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, during which time he
served at embassies in Latin America and Europe, and in Washington
undertook a series of increasingly responsible positions dealing with
Latin American, European, and international organization policy
issues. From 2002-2005, Mr. Swigert was principal deputy assistant
secretary of state in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs
and from 1999-2001, deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast
and Central Europe.
****
Joseph Eldridge is the University Chaplain of American University and
responsible for managing the programs of the Kay Spiritual Life
Center. For over 25 years he has been involved with Latin American
human rights and development issues. He founded an NGO, the Washington
Office on Latin America, and established the Washington operation of
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First).Eldridge
is on the board of directors of the Arca Foundation, and is an
ordinated minister in the United Methodist Church.
Eldridge has a doctor of divinity degree from Wesley Theological
Seminary, and recently received the Louis B. Sohn award from United
Nations Association for his contributions to advancing human rights.
***
The Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA) is an independent,
non-profit organization focused on reforming U.S. policy toward Latin
America. It recently hosted a delegation which observed the March 15
elections and recorded video interviews with voters about the election
and El Salvador’s relationship with the United States. To learn more
about the CDA, and to screen the interviews, visit our website:
www.democracyinamericas.org.
Please RSVP to Collin Laverty at collin@democracyinamericas.org or
(202) 234-5506.
202.234.5506