Silence as we hear about all the good things that Francisco Flores accomplished
Si usted cree que Flores fue un magnÃfico presidente, esta nota de @rikirraka lo invita a ser un poco más serio. https://t.co/V4cWa7vCXM— Ernesto MejÃa (@netomejia08) February 2, 2016
I did not know that, surprisingly, some people view Francisco Flores as a successful president. That seems strange. Even the AP story that I linked to over the weekend couldn't find a single person to say nice things about the former president.
Granted, they should have spoken to someone in ARENA, in Flores' family, or on his legal team. You can't write an obit of sorts just by interviewing his detractors. But, then again, I thought that it was going to be difficult to find someone who wanted to argue that he did a good job as president in the first place.
To recap, Flores' four-year term was marred by
- corruption,
- rising insecurity,
- internal conflict within ARENA,
- FMLN gains on ARENA in congress and municipal offices,
- institutional conflict between the legislative assembly and the executive branch,
- violent conflict between the government and health care professionals as played out on the streets of San Salvador,
- poor responses to natural disasters,
- diplomatic support for the coup against Chavez in Venezuela,
- his relationship with Posada Carriles,
- dollarization, and
- subservience to US President George Bush, including an unpopular decision to send Salvadoran troops to fight in Iraq and to remain long after everyone else had gone home.
He was no more successful when he left the presidential palace, His post-presidential life will be remembered for corruption, a failed bid to be OAS Secretary General, a failed think tank in Washington, D.C., and his undermining of Norman Quijano and ARENA's efforts to retake the presidency in 2014.
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