El Salvador year in review 2014

I'm not very good at these so I am glad that some people are. Here is a link to Tim's Top 10 stories from El Salvador in 2014. Here are the first two:

Salvador Sánchez Cerén from the FMLN wins a tight presidential race. For the first time since the end of El Salvador's civil war, the presidential election required two rounds to decide. Former president Tony Saca captured enough votes to prevent either Salvador Sánchez Cerén from the FMLN or Norman Quijano from ARENA from winning in the first round. In the second round, Sánchez Cerén won by only 6000 votes out of some 3 million votes cast, in a highly polarized election. Quijano conceded only after weeks of challenges before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the courts.

The election of Sánchez Cerén, a former guerrilla commander and member of the FMLN's traditional leadership, put in place an administration farther to the left than the prior government of Mauricio Funes. It means the social programs put in place under Funes will continue, but also means even greater antagonism between the government and the country's business and conservative elites.

The collapse of the gang truce. The so-called "tregua" or truce between El Salvador's largest gangs completely collapsed during 2014 leading homicide rates to climb back to 2011 levels. The tally in 2014 of 3875 murders was a56% increase over 2013.

Although Salvadorans ranks criminal violence as the top problem facing their country, no party or presidential candidate presented a plan to deal with the problem which had any credibility with voters. After newly-elected president Salvador Sánchez Cerén took office, his two crime initiatives have been an emphasis on community policing and the formation of anational council on citizen security. A group of religious leaders suggest that ongoing dialogue with the gangs is necessary, but the sole initiative of the national council, so far, has been to hire former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani as a consultant.

And don't forget to check out Polycarpio's Year in Oscar Romero which includes a list of the most important news stories related to the late Archbishop last year. Something tells me that he might top the top 10 El Salvador stories in 2015.