"A preferential option for the poor": new Salvadoran president cites Romero

El Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes Seeks Close Ties with US from New America Media on Vimeo.
El Salvador's President-elect is Mauricio Funes. He was elected with 51% of the vote, representing the FMLN and ending twenty years of dominance by the right-wing ARENA party, associated with vicious political repression. For the FMLN to win a peaceful democratic election in El Salvador is a enormous change. From the interview:

Where will the effects of the transition in power be felt most immediately?

We're going to change the way we make policy. And one of the most significant changes is that we will no longer have a government at the service of a privileged few. And we will no longer have a government that creates an economy of privileges for the privileged. Now, we need a government like the one envisioned by Mons. Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who in his prophetic message said that the church should have a preferential option for the poor.

Paraphrasing Mons. Romero, I would say that this government should have a preferential option for the poor, for those who need a robust government to get ahead and to be able to compete in this world of disequilibrium under fair conditions.

This government implies a break from traditional policymaking. Now, what we're going to do is put the government and the structure of the state at the service of the Salvadoran people––the totality of the Salvadoran people – but, fundamentally, to that great majority who are oppressed and excluded from the country's social and economic development. Not just the last 20 years, but for the last 200 years or more, have not had the possibility of participating in the formation of public policies.

To read the English transcript of the interview, and find more news about this important election, go here to the post on the New American Media site. You can also read more on Roberto Lovato's blog Of América.