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.

Not to be confused with the National Republican Alliance.

Nationalist Republican Alliance
Alianza Republicana Nacionalista
AbbreviationARENA
PresidentCarlos García Saade[1]
FounderRoberto D'Aubuisson
Founded30 September 1981
Registered4 December 1981
HeadquartersProlongación Calle Arce, entre 45 y 47 av N. #2429. Col. Flor Blanca, San Salvador, El Salvador
Youth wingNationalist Republican Youth
Membership (2019)127,543[2]
Ideology
Political positionCenter-right[8][9] to right-wing[10][11][12][13][14]
Historical:
Far-right[15]
Regional affiliationUnion of Latin American Parties[16]
International affiliationInternational Democrat Union
Colors
  •   Blue
  •   White
  •   Red
Slogan
  • Peace, progress and freedom
  • (Spanish: «Paz, progreso y libertad»)
AnthemMarcha de ARENA
Seats in the Legislative Assembly
11 / 84
Municipalities
26 / 262
Seats in PARLACEN
3 / 20
Party flag
Flag of the Nationalist Republican Alliance
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

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".

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Presidential elections
Election Candidate First round Second round Result Ref.
Votes % Votes %
1982 Hugo César Barrera 17[lower-alpha 1]
32.08%
 — Lost Red XN
1984 Roberto D'Aubuisson 376,917
29.77%
 651,741
46.41%
 [27]
1989 Alfredo Cristiani 505,370
53.82%
 — Elected Green tickY [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 Red XN [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 To be determined [33]

Legislative Assembly elections
Election Votes % Position Seats +/– Status in legislature Ref.
1982 430,205 29.28% Increase 2nd
19 / 60
 Increase 19 Opposition [34]
1985 286,665 29.70%
13 / 60
 Decrease 6 [35]
1988 447,696 48.10% Increase 1st
31 / 60
 Increase 18 [36]
1991 466,091 44.33%
39 / 84
 Increase 8 Government [36]
1994 605,775 45.03%
39 / 84
 Steady 0 [37]
1997 396,301 35.40%
28 / 84
 Decrease 11 [37]
2000 436,169 36.04%
29 / 84
 Increase 1 [38]
2003 446,233 31.90% Decrease 2nd
27 / 84
 Decrease 1 [38]
2006 620,117 39.40%
34 / 84
 Increase 7 [39]
2009 854,166 38.55%
32 / 84
 Decrease 2 Opposition [40]
2012 620,117 39.40%
34 / 84
 Increase 2 [41]
2015 885,374 38.90% Increase 1st
32 / 84
 Decrease 2 [42]
2018 886,365 41.72%
37 / 84
 Increase 5 [43]
2021 305,108 12.22% Decrease 2nd
14 / 84
 Decrease 23 [44]
2024 To be determined

See also

Notes
  1. The 1982 presidential election was determined by the Legislative Assembly rather than through a popular vote.

References

Citations
  1. "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.
  2. 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.
  3. Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), "Conclusion", Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 286, ISBN 9780801863868
  4. Bounds, Andrew (2001), "El Salvador: History", South America, Central America and the Caribbean 2002, Routledge, p. 384, ISBN 9781857431216
  5. Van Der Lijn, Jair (2006), Walking the Tightrope: Do UN peacekeeping operations actually contribute to durable peace?, Rozenberg Publishers, p. 252, ISBN 9036100372
  6. Middlebrook, Kevin J. (2000), "Introduction", Conservative Parties, the Right, and Democracy in Latin America, JHU Press, p. 26, ISBN 9780801863868
  7. "El Salvador's presidential election: A nation divided", The Economist, 12 March 2009
  8. "El Salvador, Prizing Water Over Gold, Bans All Metal Mining". New York Times. 29 March 2017. the center-right Arena party
  9. "Candidate of Palestine origin wins Salvador presidency". Middle East Monitor. 4 February 2019. the center-right Nationalist Republican Alliance
  10. Haggerty 1990, p. 44.
  11. Beetham, David (2002), "El Salvador", The State of Democracy, Kluwer Law International, p. 27, ISBN 9789041119315
  12. 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
  13. "El Salvador", The Europa World Year Book 2008, Taylor & Francis, p. 1649, 2008
  14. Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), "ARENA", Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups, Greenwood Press, p. 24, ISBN 9780313324857
  15. Central Intelligence Agency 2013, p. 5.
  16. "Partidos Miembros". Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  17. Monti, Caterina; Granados, Ciro (29 September 2006). "La Huella Tricolor" [The Tricolor Footprint]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  18. Brockett 2005, p. 240.
  19. Directorate of Intelligence 2011, pp. 13–14.
  20. "CICIG determinó que asesinato de diputados fue por drogas".
  21. "$5 Million Dollars and 20 Kilos of Cocaine". 18 November 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  22. "Hallan Muerto a Empresario Gustavo López Davidson" [They Found Businessman Gustavo López Davidson Dead]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  23. "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. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  24. "Ex-rebel becomes el Salvador leader". BBC News. June 2014.
  25. Supreme Electoral Court [@TSEElSalvador] (7 February 2019). "Resultados (Elección Presidencial de 2019)" [Results (2019 Presidential Election)] (Tweet) (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022 – via Twitter.
  26. Harrison, Chase (31 May 2022). "In El Salvador, a Chastened Opposition Looks to Find Its Way". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  27. Nohlen 2005, p. 289.
  28. Nohlen 2005, p. 290.
  29. Nohlen 2005, p. 291.
  30. Supreme Electoral Court 2004, p. 110.
  31. Supreme Electoral Court 2009, p. 87.
  32. Supreme Electoral Court 2014, pp. 131 & 144.
  33. Urbina, Javier (17 July 2023). "Partidos de Oposición Oficializan a sus Presidenciables" [Opposition Parties Officialize Their Presidential Candidates]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  34. Nohlen 2005, p. 281.
  35. Nohlen 2005, pp. 283 & 286.
  36. Nohlen 2005, pp. 284 & 286.
  37. Nohlen 2005, pp. 285–286.
  38. Nohlen 2005, p. 286.
  39. Supreme Electoral Court 2006.
  40. Supreme Electoral Court 2009, p. 196.
  41. "Legislative Election Results – El Salvador Totals". Election Resources.org. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  42. "Elecciones 2015" [2015 Elections] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  43. "Elecciones 2018" [2018 Elections]. Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  44. "Elecciones 2021 – Diputados y Diputadas para Asamblea Legislativa" [2021 Elections – Deputies for the Legislative Assembly] (PDF). Supreme Electoral Court (in Spanish). March 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2022.

Bibliography
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