COMMUNISM WATCH:Salvadoran ex-rebels lead in presidential election

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador-El Salvador's former guerrillas, behind the bespectacled, moderate face of a former TV journalist, took the lead in presidential elections Sunday that threaten to oust conservatives who have ruled since a bloody civil war, official results showed.
Mauricio Funes,(picture left) plucked from outside the ranks of the rebel group-turned-political party Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, claimed victory and promised to unite a country after one of the most polarizing campaigns since the 12-year war that killed 75,000 people.He would become the latest in a wave of leftist leaders to take power in Latin America at a time of uncertainty over how President Barack Obama will approach the region."This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador's greatest hope," Funes said."I want to thank all the people who vote for me and chose that path of hope and change." With votes counted from 73 percent of polling stations, Funes had 52 percent compared to 48 percent for Rodrigo Avila of the ruling conservative Arena party, said Walter Araujo, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Nearly 2 million votes had been tallied, but Araujo did not say what percentage that represented.He did not officially proclaim a victor, and there was no concession from Avila.Jubilant red-clad Funes supporters poured into the streets of San Salvador, whooping, clapping, blowing whistles and waving large party flags.Funes, 49, promises to crack down on big businesses which he says exploit government complacency to evade taxes. He hopes to capitalize on discontent with two decades of Arena party rule that have brought economic growth but done little to redress social inequalities.Avila, 44, a former police chief with a boyish grin, is trying to bring Arena to its fifth straight presidential victory. He warns that an FMLN victory would send El Salvador down a communist path and threaten the country's warm relations with the United States....
Associated Press writer Christopher Toothaker in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
By ALEXANDRA OLSON--AP Writer
To read more go to:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_el_salvador_elections
PS:This guy(Funes)sounds just like BHO..."HOPE and CHANGE"...May God have mercy on the people of El Salvador...I see dark clouds in the future of this nation IF this FUNES wins...which looks pretty much the case....
As in the days of Noah...