Leftist Takes El Salvador's Helm

Clinton Says U.S. Foresees 'Positive Relationship' With Funes

SAN SALVADOR, June 1 -- Nearly two decades after the end of a U.S.-backed war against El Salvador's rebels, a representative of the former guerrilla movement took power on Monday -- with a top American official applauding.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attended the inauguration dressed in bright red, the color of the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front. It was an image that would have been unthinkable in the 1980s, when the United States poured $6 billion into El Salvador to fight the rebel group backed by Cuba and the Soviet Union.

The FMLN laid down its arms in 1992 and joined the political system. But some U.S. lawmakers still worry about the party, fearing it could propel El Salvador into the orbit of anti-American countries such as Venezuela. Forty-five House Republicans wrote Clinton in March warning about "potential threats to our security interests" if the FMLN candidate, Mauricio Funes, won.

Clinton, however, told reporters here that she expects "a positive relationship" with Funes, who is considered by many Latin Americans to be a moderate. Her visit signaled the Obama administration's effort to reach out to a more assertive Latin America altered by a "pink tide" of socialist victories in recent years.

After meeting with Funes on Monday evening, Clinton told him: "The United States stands ready to assist you and your new government. This is a commitment President Obama and I share."

"The secretary wants to engage Funes, because we don't want him moving all the way to the left," said Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, who was with the U.S. delegation.

El Salvador has been one of the staunchest U.S. allies in Latin America, maintaining troops in Iraq until this year. Funes immediately signaled a departure from his predecessors, announcing the resumption of diplomatic ties with Cuba. Still, the new government is expected to maintain a strong relationship with the United States. El Salvador receives $4 billion a year from immigrants in Washington and other U.S. cities, and it sells half its exports to the U.S. market.

In his inaugural speech at an amphitheater packed with men in red ties and women in red jackets, Funes hailed his two political heroes: President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, a moderate leftist, and President Obama.

The men, he said, were "proof that progressive leaders, instead of being a threat, represent a new and secure road for their countries."

He also singled out Clinton, saying: "This woman honors America."

Some opponents of Funes had predicted he would cozy up to populist leaders in Venezuela and Nicaragua and introduce socialism. But the only revolution promised by the 49-year-old former broadcast journalist was one against corruption and poverty.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega had been expected to attend, but did not.

Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, said the FMLN has a democratic track record, holding many mayor's offices and congressional seats in recent years. "The FMLN has been part of the architecture of representative democracy in El Salvador. El Salvador's resemblance to other countries in Latin America governed by the populist left are quite minimal," she said.

Funes, however, will likely face pressure to shift further to the left from others in the FMLN, including his vice president, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, analysts said.

Funes's inauguration was deeply emotional for many Salvadorans who suffered through the 12-year civil war, which left 75,000 dead. "We fought the battle so we could have this change," said Cecilia Hermin Navarro, 68, a tiny woman in a red shirt who said she was tortured by police during the conflict.

"So many people died so this day could come," said Fernando Aguilar, a 28-year-old government employee. Clinton's presence, he said, "breaks the paradigm that the United States had in the past, that if the left wins, the U.S. closes the door."