The weekly magazine Proceso reported in its 20 January 1999 issue:

The political parties of El Salvador entered into an agreement to commit themselves to an electoral campaign of some moral and political stature and, until now, they have complied with this commitment in good degree, with the exception of some few incidents, which are becoming more and more frequent as the elections approach. These incidents, which have ended in blows, are the result of actions by ARENA and the FMLN.

In a 7 March 1999 report, The Washington Post described the presidential race as a "a low-key campaign largely devoid of personal and ideological attacks."

The information that follows was provided by a representative of the FMLN youth (Juventud del FMLN) during a 10 June 1999 telephone interview.

Although the 1999 presidential campaign was relatively peaceful as a result of an agreement between opposing candidates, a number of confrontations and aggressive actions against FMLN youth members took place in San Salvador and throughout the country, mostly by militants from ARENA. There were no deaths reported during this last campaign, but a number of militants were injured, including the son of the vice-presidential candidate.

No published reports containing references to specific incidents of violence between political parties during the 1999 presidential campaign were found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of additional sources consulted in researching this information request.

FMLN Youth office, San Salvador. 10 June 1999. Telephone interview with coordinator.

Proceso [San Salvador]. 20 January 1999. No. 839. "Editorial: A Certain Lack of Stature." (CIDAI/UCA)

The Washington Post. 7 March 1999. Serge F. Kovaleski. "Pessimistic Salvadorans Prepare to Vote; Beset by Crime and Poverty, Some Say They Will Sit Out Presidential Election." (NEXIS)

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. 1998.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1998.

Electronic sources: IRB databases, REFWORLD, Internet, WNC.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. It does not include publications available in the Resource Centre.