Cispes informa

On March 30th, a Salvadoran newspaper announced the visit of Presidente Saca to the City of San Francisco and that Mayor Gavin Newsom will declare April 4th “The Day of President Saca.”This act is an offense to the Salvadoran community in the city, because this President represents a dictatorship disguised as civil but merely a continuation of repressive military regimes of the past. This “president,” who was only elected by a massive fear campaign waged against the Salvadoran people, represents a government that has plunged El Salvador into extreme poverty and has handed over the sovereignty of El Salvador to the United States. Furthermore, El Salvador is the only Latin American country that has troops in Iraq as part of the Coalition of Invaders--a war-loving President cannot be honored in this city!Gavin Newsom will honor Saca by declaring April 4th as the “Day of President Saca”, an act that contradicts the principles of this city that is always protesting against wars, invasions and exclusionary policies. That is why CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) is calling our allies to take action by:

1. Joining us this Friday at a demonstration at City Hall at 12:00 noon. We must show that Saca is not welcome in San Francisco!
2. Calling the Mayor at (415) 554-6141 or sending him emails at
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gavin.newsom@sfgov.org
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as soon as possible!
Here is a sample message that you can send or use to call Mayor Newsom.
I am writing/calling to express my opposition to your declaration of April 4 as the “Day of Antonio Saca,” President of El Salvador. The level of state repression in El Salvador, especially violent attacks on youth and on the social movement, has risen dramatically under Saca and the city of San Francisco should not honor him in any way. Did you know that his government recently tried to send peaceful protesters to jail for 60 years under charges of terrorism?
Your visit with him is deeply offensive to the Salvadoran community in San Francisco that has been forced out of their country by the economic policies of free trade and privatization that Saca’s government has pushed and whose family members are now living under a civil dictatorship. How can the City of San Francisco honor such a government? Will you withhold your declaration on Friday?