The Nationalist Republican Alliance (Spanish: Alianza Republicana Nacionalista or ARENA) is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981 by Roberto D'Aubuisson in order to oppose the military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time. Though D'Aubisson is best known for his suspected involvement in death squad murders, as was the ARENA of his time, in the peaceful post-civil war environment the party functions with complete legitimacy as a normal right-wing party, in the same way that the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), the former leftist guerrilla group is now the other major party, apart from ARENA, in the country.
President Francisco Flores (1999–2004) was an Arenista, as were his two predecessors, Alfredo Cristiani and Armando Calderón Sol.
ARENA's successful candidate in El Salvador's 2004 presidential election was Tony Saca. On March 21 2004, Saca defeated Schafik Handal, the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, by a margin of 58% to 36% with 70% turnout. He was sworn in as president the following June 1.
External link
