GUE/NGL MEPs have congratulated the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional) and its candidate Salvador Sanchez Cerén for winning 48.9% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, ten points ahead of the right-wing ARENA candidate.

"This positive result shows there is undeniable support for the FMLN and former President Mauricio Funes who has put the interests of ordinary Salvadorans at the centre of his social agenda," commented GUE/NGL MEP Willy Meyer, who represented the GUE/NGL in San Salvador to support the FMLN campaign and to back its candidate.

Spanish MEP Meyer said: "The FLMN's electoral success will undoubtedly result in the success of the European left in its determination to eliminate neoliberal policies.

"It is thanks to the FMLN's effective organisational capacity, which is a constant in political organisations in Latin America, that neoliberal policies have been overcome. "These organisations not only guarantee resistance against imperialism, but also the real possibility of building paths to socialism. In its 5-year period of government, it has been established as an organisation with a major influence on domestic production and the social economy."

GUE/NGL Press Contacts:

Gay Kavanagh +32 473 84 23 20

Emily Macintosh +32 470 85 05 08
European United Left / Nordic Green Left

European Parliamentary Group

www.guengl.eu