There was bad news, too. Election monitors from the Organization of American States said that there had been “problems and irregularities” in the voting process. The rebels of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) have kept up the offensive fighting they started last November, leaving 20 dead in the weeks before their surprising election-time cease-fire. And the Army itself took advantage of the lull by making several raids into FMLN territory.
One U.S. official suggested that the recent fighting was a last effort to establish bargaining positions. “The impression that El Salvador is a solvable problem suddenly sank in this week on both sides,” said the official. “So the pressure at the negotiating table has never been greater.”
