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Description
An older woman stands in line as she waits to vote on election day in Santa Tecla. Behind her there is a large crowd waiting to do the same. She is held at the hips by another woman standing behind her. Standing in front of the line is one Salvadoran Army soldier tasked with providing security. They both hold a Heckler & Koch (H&K) G3 battle rifle, a weapon designed in Germany but of unknown origin which fires 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition. The Salvadoran government reported that 1,551,687 persons went to the polls although researchers at the University of Central America in San Salvador said the number of voters was between 600,000 and 800,000. There were long lines but not too many polling places, only thirteen, for example, in the capital of San Salvador. The U.S. administration considered the elections a democratic success but parties representing political views to the left of the Christian Democrats were not even represented, and many Salvadorans voted in fear of reprisals by the Salvadoran armed forces against those who didn't vote. Journalist Lynda Schuster of The Wall Street Journal, for example, reported that soldiers had threatened to kill the villagers of San Benito if they didn't cast a ballot. During those years Salvadoran were required to carry around an identification card, called cédula, which was stamped after the person had voted. As journalist Raymon Bonner writes in his book Weakness and Deceit, “thousands of Salvadorans peasants walked many miles, endured long lines, stood in the blistering sun solely because they wanted their cédulas stamped, not because they had faith in the democratic process or were opposed to the guerrillas.” Richard Cross took this image in 1982 while covering the presidential election and War of Liberation in El Salvador. Una mujer anciana yace parada en fila mientras espera votar durante el día de la elección en Santa Tecla. Detrás de ella se observa a una multitud esperando también votar. Ella es sostenida de la cadera por otra mujer parada detrás de ella. Parado al frente de la fila se observa a un soldado salvadoreño proveyendo seguridad. Él porta un fusil de combate Heckler & Koch (H&K) G3 de diseño alemán pero de fabricación desconocida de calibre 7.62x51mm OTAN. El gobierno salvadoreño informó que 1 millón 551,687 personas acudieron a las urnas aunque investigadores de la Universidad Centroamericana en San Salvador dijo que el número de votantes estaba entre 600 mil y 800 mil. Había largas colas pero no demasiados lugares de votación, solo trece, por ejemplo, en la capital de San Salvador. La administración de Estados Unidos consideró las elecciones como un éxito democrático, pero los partidos que representaban los puntos de vista políticos a la izquierda de los demócratas cristianos ni siquiera
Elections--El Salvador El Salvador--Politics and government--1979-1992 Voting--El Salvador--Nueva San Salvador Crowds El Salvador. Ejército Crowd control
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