Workers' Party begins process of becoming official political party

Yesterday, Diario CoLatino reported that members of the new Partido de los Trabajadores (Workers' Party) picked up 50,000 ballots from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for citizens to sign in order for the new party to be registered as an official political party. If the Workers' Party, which was founded in 2002, is able to collect 50,000 signatures, the party will be able to participate in the next election. The party members stated that all wage earners can join their party. including those who work in the informal sector of the economy.

According to the Secretary of the Workers' Party, Abel Quijano (pictured above at the TSE), the new party will represent the "true interests of the working class, which are not currently being represented anywhere else." This statement may surprise some people in El Salvador, where the FMLN, the party farthest to the left, recently celebrated their first presidential victory. However, Pedro Zaldívar, another leader of the Workers' Party, indicated the party's interest in working with the FMLN. "I am a leftist, we are from the left, the FMLN defines itself as part of the left so hopefully we can work together."

- Sara Skinner, US Grassroots Coordinator