El Salvador's Funes is Sworn in as President

Mauricio Funes, a journalist from the FMLN party, was sworn in today as El Salvador's first leftist president. He replaces conservative president Tony Saca as head of the country.

Funes has promised to maintain El Salvador's good relations with the United States while also restoring ties with Cuba. As the Associated Press points out, Funes has his work cut out for him domestically and will inherit, "an economic recession, widespread gang violence, and a population bitterly polarized over his party's rise to power."

In an opinion piece in today's Miami Herald, United States Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, wrote, "The inauguration of a new president in El Salvador today is a testament to the strength and durability of democracy throughout the Americas." Clinton traveled to El Salvador to attend the ceremony.


Online sources: Associated Press, Miami Herald
Image: Associated Press