Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | FMLN |
| Secretary-General | Manuel Flores |
| Deputy Secretary-General | Marleni Funes |
| Founded | 10 October 1980 |
| Registered | 14 December 1992 |
| Legalized | 30 June 1992 |
| Merger of | |
| Preceded by | Unified Revolutionary Directorate |
| Headquarters | 27 Poniente Street No. 1316 Colonia Layco, San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Youth wing | FMLN Youth |
| Membership (2024) | c. 16,000 |
| Ideology |
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| Political position | |
| Regional affiliation | Parliamentary Group of the Left |
| Continental affiliation | São Paulo Forum COPPPAL |
| Colors | Red, white |
| Anthem | "Himno del FMLN" ("Anthem of the FMLN") |
| Seats in the Legislative Assembly | 0 / 60 |
| Municipalities | 0 / 44 |
| Seats in PARLACEN | 2 / 20 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| fmln | |
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (Spanish: Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, abbreviated FMLN) is a Salvadoran left-wing political party and former guerrilla rebel group.
The FMLN was established on 10 October 1980 as the merged of four leftist guerrilla groups: the Farabundo Martí Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), the National Resistance Armed Forces (FARN), and the Armed Liberation Forces/Communist Party of El Salvador (FAL/PCES); the Revolutionary Party of the Central American Workers (PRTC) joined in December 1980. In 1981, the FMLN joined forces with the Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR) coalition of mass organizations and were sometimes collectively referred to as the FMLN–FDR. The FMLN fought against the Salvadoran government during the country's civil war that lasted from 1979 to 1992. The FMLN launched three major offensives against the government in 1981, 1982, and 1989. The group signed the Chapultepec Peace Accords with the government that ended the civil war. As a part of the peace accords, the FMLN was demobilized and registered as a political party.
For three decades from the mid 1990s to the late 2010s, the FMLN dominated Salvadoran politics in a two-party system alongside the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). The party often finished in first or second place in the country's legislative and municipal elections. The FMLN lost the first three presidential elections it participated in, when it nominated various former civil war commanders. The party won the 2009 presidential election when it nominated journalist Mauricio Funes for President. Funes was succeeded in 2014 by Vice President Salvador Sánchez Cerén, a former guerrilla commander who narrowly won the 2014 presidential election. The FMLN lost the next two presidential elections, and after the 2024 election, it lost all its seats in the Legislative Assembly. Throughout the FMLN's history as a political party, several splinter parties have emerged from it such as the Democratic Party, Renewal Movement, and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (unrelated to the civil war-era group).
The FMLN is El Salvador's largest left-wing political party. During the civil war, the FMLN espoused Marxism–Leninism but moderated its position between 1989 and 1991 to embrace democratic socialism. The FMLN is a member of the Parliamentary Group of the Left political faction in the Central American Parliament. It is also a member of the São Paulo Forum and COPPPAL, two alliances of leftist Latin American political parties. Manuel Flores, the FMLN's 2024 presidential candidate and a former legislator, has served as the party's secretary-general since August 2024. As of 2024, the FMLN has around 16,000 members. In recent years, it has received criticism from leftist voters for corruption and perception of being out of touch with its base, as well as seeing a collapse in legislative seats during the 2024 legislative election.