Antonio Saca

Tony Saca
43rd President of El Salvador
In office
June 1, 2004 – June 1, 2009
Vice President Ana Vilma de Escobar (2004-2009)
Preceded by Francisco Flores
Succeeded by Mauricio Funes
Personal details
Born Elías Antonio Saca González
(1965-03-09) March 9, 1965
Usulután, El Salvador
Political party ARENA (Before 2010)
PCN (2013–present)
Spouse(s) Ana Ligia Mixco (m. 1989)
Alma mater Central American University

Elías Antonio "Tony" Saca González (born March 9, 1965) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from June 1, 2004 to June 1, 2009.

Early life

Born in Usulután, Saca is of Palestinian Arab descent on his father's side, a family of Catholic Christian immigrants who arrived in El Salvador in the early 20th century from the town of Bethlehem. Saca's Muslim maternal grandfather, Musa Ali Saleh, changed his name to Moises Gonzalez.[1]

Prior to becoming President, Saca was a broadcast journalist, specializing in sports radio and a prominent businessman. He attended the University of Central America. He is an outspoken Evangelical Protestant and has expressed his faith through his historic friendliness with Salvadoran and American Protestant churches.

Saca married Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca on August 11, 1989.[2] The couple have three children, Gerardo Antonio, Jose Alejandro and Christian Eduardo.[2]

Political career

On March 21, 2004, Saca was elected President of El Salvador, and on June 1, 2004 succeeded President Francisco Flores. Both Saca and Flores are members of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance party, generally known by its Spanish-language acronym ARENA. Like Flores, Saca was part of ARENA's moderate wing.

During the election campaign, some commentators criticized Saca's lack of political experience. In the election, Saca defeated leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) candidate, Schafik Handal, also of Arab descent. The election results were:

  • Antonio Saca (ARENA) 57.7%
  • Schafik Handal (FMLN) 35.6%
  • Héctor Silva (CDU-PDC) 3.9%
  • Other 2.8%

The ARENA party expelled Saca in December 2009 for his suspected involvement in getting certain ARENA legislators to defect to a new party, the Grand Alliance for National Unity,[3] in cooperation with the ruling FMLN government.

Policies

President Saca initiated the "Solidarian Network plan" on October 2005 with international aid from European countries such as Spain.[4] This plan was aimed at communities considered below the poverty line. A map of poor areas was developed, and financial aid in the amount of $15 to $20 per month per family was to be distributed in the designation areas. The plan was initiated in the Balsam Range municipalities (Cordillera del Balsamo), such as Jicalapa, in La Libertad department.

With his embracing of the free-market and pro-United States policies like those pursued by Flores, Saca was the clear favorite of the United States government in the 2004 presidential election. Saca was one of the leaders in Latin America to send troops to Iraq, though he was the only one to maintain them on extended deployment.[5][6] El Salvador's military commitment in Iraq ended in February 2009.[7]

Allegations of corruption

President Saca was the subject of widespread allegations of corruption. A secret cable from the American Embassy in San Salvador, made public by Wikileaks, cites lawmakers from Saca's own ARENA party and business figures as raising specific concerns about Saca abusing the power of the presidency for his own personal gain. Such corruption "went beyond the pale" even by Salvadoran standards. According to the cable: "While the Salvadoran public may be inured to self-serving behavior by politicians, many in ARENA believe that the brazen manner in which Saca and his people are widely perceived to have used their positions for personal enrichment went beyond the pale. ARENA deputy (and son of controversial ARENA founder) Roberto d’Aubuisson (protect) told Poloff that Saca “deliberately ignored” his Public Works Minister’s government contract kickbacks scheme, even after the case was revealed in the press. Furthermore, considerable evidence exists, including from U.S. business sources, that the Saca administration pushed laws and selectively enforced regulations with the specific intent to benefit Saca's family business interests."[8]

The U.S. Embassy cable also made mention of Saca's multimillion-dollar mansion constructed during his presidency: "Saca also accumulated conspicuous assets – including a mansion in San Salvador and large landholdings in La Union that do not square with the investments and income he had prior to assuming the presidency."

Another classified U.S. Embassy cable reported that ARENA expelled Saca, "charging that he had misspent $219 million of unaccounted-for government funds, and citing improprieties in the 2008-2009 electoral process, claiming Saca had pressured mayors to vote for specified candidates under penalty of being excluded as ARENA municipal candidates." The ARENA leadership, according to the cable, "said Saca improperly transferred government funds to bolster his own image, despite funding shortages for public health and safety. Saca defended himself in a December 13 telephone interview with center-left online newspaper El Faro . . . . He also claimed the funding transfer was authorized by law."[9]

In the midst of a political campaign, the former President was sued on October 21, 2013 for corruption and money laundering.[10] On March 7, 2016, the El Salvador Supreme Court ordered Saca to stand trial for illegal enrichment[11]. In September 12, 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a tribunal.[12]

Presidential election 2014

Former President Saca was a candidate in the February 2, 2014 elections. Though he leans politically to the right, Saca and the deputies aligned with him have often allied with the FMLN in the National Assembly to vote against ARENA, offering Saca a degree of political influence.[13] He was running as part of a coalition of small parties called UNIDAD, which included groups from both the center-left and center-right, but was not expected to win. In fact, he lost.

Operation "Destape a la Corrupción"

In the night of Saturday, October 29, 2016, the ex-president Elías Antonio Saca, was captured on alleged corruption charges by the police; according to the Prosecutor, Saca has been arrested for alleged illicit enrichment, unlawful association, and money laundering. Julio Rank (ex-secretary of communications), Cesar Funes (ex-secretary of the youth), and four other former officials in his government were also arrested. Prosecutor has accused him and the others for diverting from the public coffers a total of $ 246 million.[14]

The initial hearing was held in the Fourth Court of Peace of San Salvador, in three sessions, one per day, resulting that on Saturday, November 5th, the Judge ordered the continuation of the process to the stage of investigation and the detention of those involved, including Saca.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Dellios, Hugh. "El Salvador vote divides 2 Arab clans". Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Couto, Florencia (2004-07-01). "Una dama de primera". El Diario de Hoy. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  3. ↑ US Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, "Background Note: El Salvador," updated February 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.lahora.com.gt/notas.php?key=35026&fch=2007-05-22%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  5. ↑ "Iraq Coalition Troops". February 2007. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  6. ↑ "Two Years of Saca in El Salvador". June 19, 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  7. ↑ https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hAPMMdUoNsolY51KKFrnlOfPbbTgD966UH1O0
  8. ↑ United States Embassy San Salvador, "Reorganizing ARENA: The Party's Future After Avila's Defeat," classified diplomatic cable SECRET/NOFORN, 6 October 2010, WikiLeaks ID #228629 Archived 3 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine..
  9. ↑ United States Embassy San Salvador, "ARENA Expels Former President Saca," classified diplomatic cable CONFIDENTIAL, 15 December 2009, WikiLeaks ID #240031 Archived 2013-01-16 at the Wayback Machine..
  10. ↑ .
  11. ↑ "Ex-president of El Salvador Saca set for graft trial". Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Former El Salvador president sentenced to 10 years in prison
  13. ↑ Thale, Geoff (29 Jan 2014). "Background Info. on the Upcoming Elections in El Salvador". Washington Office on Latin America.
  14. ↑ "La maquinaria que ordeñó al Estado hasta los últimos días de la gestión Saca". ElFaro.net.
Political offices
Preceded by
Francisco Flores		 President of El Salvador
June 1, 2004 – June 1, 2009		 Succeeded by
Mauricio Funes
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