The Foreign Service Journal, September 2012

of a foreign country to congratulate Funes in person. We posed for a photo, which circulated quickly in the blogosphere. It was precisely the sym- bol we wanted to transmit of U.S. sup- port for free elections and an orderly, democratic transition in El Salvador. Funes was gracious in victory, and reported he had just received a con- gratulatory call from Brazilian Presi- dent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. I promised to do what I could to get Pres. Obama to call Funes as soon as possible. The victorious candidate then went out to greet a large throng of supporters assembled at Masferrer Circle, and reiterated his promise to govern in the letter and spirit of the country’s constitution. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Tom Shannon quickly mobilized an effec- tive response to the results. He had al- ready planned to visit San Salvador right after the election to discuss the broad outlines of shared U.S. and Sal- vadoran interests with whoever won. On the morning Shannon arrived, Pres. Obama phoned Funes to offer his congratulations. Accompanied by his wife and for- eign minister-to-be, Funes expressed his pleasure with the president’s call during a meeting with Shannon and three of us from the embassy. He as- sured us that his desire for good rela- tions with the U.S. was not just cam- paign rhetoric, but rather a sensible way to govern a country that had a third of its citizens living in the United States and sent half of its exports to the U.S. market. Shannon and Deputy Assistant Sec- retary Craig Kelly later arranged for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to attend Funes’ June 1 swear- ing-in ceremony. At a joint press con- ference, Pres. Funes and Sec. Clinton talked about the importance of main- taining cordial relations. When a New York Times reporter asked Sec. Clinton if the U.S. govern- ment would apologize for its role dur- ing El Salvador’s civil war, she replied: “We’re not looking backward into his- tory to define this relationship; looking forward, we can expect to build a rela- tionship based on good will and many shared interests.” Funes’ statements were equally upbeat. The press con- S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 45 We joined publicly with civic leaders appealing for calm and for the loser to graciously accept the results.