As days drag on the victor in the presidential elections in El Salvador is still unclear. After a runoff election and almost a a week since the polls closed it appears that the choice – and therefore the fundamental idea of democracy – has been taken away from the people altogether in what seems like a conspiracy in favor of the fmln – and extremist left winged party.

In spite of how I was raised and the ideals I have come to stand for one thing is clear to me, El Salvador cannot afford to have another destructive president in power. No matter who the winner comes to be, the nation must come together as one to move away from this standstill that it is at and overcome the situation and triumph over the bad. This is imperative especially when failure to do so could mean a complete collapse of the system as we know it.

As somebody who spent half my life and endless summers in my homeland of El Salvador I can say an unending amount of wonderful things. Named after Jesus Christ, the nation is truly blessed. If you’ve ever hoped to see beauty it is abundant in El Salvador and never more than 30 minutes away. From majestic mountains to awe inspiring beaches, to fields with so much life and views that could knock the wind out of you, this country is certainly not lacking in the beauty department.

Despite this it doesn’t escape me that when she is brought up in conversation, most often than not the comments are negative. As someone who was seen all it has to offer, it’s hurtful to hear someone speak down on your country like that. I’m aware of the awful situations and of the bipolar-ness of it all – after all you can’t walk down the streets without seeing something beautiful counterbalanced by extreme poverty – and yet knowing the treasures this land holds within makes it almost unbearable to hear the negative things.

And then the answer strikes me like burning slap to the face. It’s the leaders fault. Presidents are elected to be the voice of the people – to speak in favor of the ideal of the nation as a whole so that it may move ahead and strive in all it has. This, however, has not been a role displayed by past presidents. This role has instead been filled by people acting selfishly upon this given role, acting for themselves and in a wish to show the other parties that they are the superior party. In the end it’s all wrong, by isolating the ideals that separate the nation as opposed to acting for the whole all they have managed to do is unleash to the world all the things that make the country (bad) and hidden away all the (good) so that it can no longer be seen.
Corruption thrives and people undeserving of goods continue to receive it, and overall elected officials seem to allude the infamous United States “kitchen cabinet” from Jacksonian times.
It’s no longer enough to survive. To emerge a victor, leaders must stand for ALL of the people and erase those lines that divide parties instead leading El Salvador in unison so that like the blue and white of the flag it can continue to soar.