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Description
José Napoleón Duarte makes the V sign for victory with his hands raised at a campaign rally. He is missing three fingers on his left hand. In the Constituent Assembly elections, held on March 28, 1982, the Christian Democratic Party won a plurality of votes, but ARENA and the traditional military party (the National Coalition Party, PCN) gained control and named Roberto D’Aubuisson president of the Assembly. Under strong pressure from the Reagan administration to block D'Aubuisson from becoming president of the country, the newly elected Assembly named Álvaro Magaña provisional president on April 29, 1982. Duarte had joined the civil-military junta of El Salvador on March 3, 1980, becoming its president on December 13. He provided international legitimacy to the Salvadoran repression and the killings of the civilian population. Duarte had an image of a democratic reformer, a much needed feature in order to ensure the continual flow of military aid from Washington. He was elected president in 1984, and, as Noam Chomsky writes in his book “Turning the Tide”, presided over the worst massacres in the history of his country. José Napoleón Duarte hace el signo V de la victoria con las manos levantadas en un mitin de campaña. Le faltan tres dedos en su mano izquierda. En las elecciones a la Asamblea Constituyente, celebradas el 28 de marzo de 1982, el Partido Demócrata Cristiano obtuvo una pluralidad de votos, pero ARENA y el tradicional partido militar (Partido de Conciliación Nacional, PCN) ganaron el control y nombraron a Roberto D'Aubuisson presidente de la Asamblea. Bajo una fuerte presión de la administración Reagan para impedir que D'Aubuisson se convirtiera en presidente del país, la recién electa Asamblea nombró a Álvaro Magaña presidente provisional el 29 de abril de 1982. Duarte se había unido a la junta cívico-militar de El Salvador el 3 de marzo de 1980, convirtiéndose en su presidente el 13 de diciembre. Él le dio legitimidad internacional a la represión salvadoreña y a los asesinatos de la población civil. Duarte tenía una imagen de reformador democrático, una característica muy necesaria para asegurar el flujo continuo de ayuda militar desde Washington. Fue electo presidente en 1984 y, como escribe Noam Chomsky en su libro “Turning the Tide”, presidió las peores masacres de la historia de su país.
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