On Friday afternoon, the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) visited the UW with Francisca Iraheta Romero as one of the final destinations of their “The Road to Victory” West Coast speaking tour.

With this tour and other efforts, CISPES is aiming to garner congressional support for a “Dear Colleague” letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, demanding that the Department of State issue a statement of neutrality with regards to the 2014 El Salvador presidential elections.

“For every election in the past 20 years, the U.S. has come out on the side of the right-wing. We want the United States to have in writing that it will be neutral in the upcoming elections,” said Allen Hines, Seattle CISPES coordinator.

“We want to continue the progress we made since 2009,” said Romero, by way of Aisha Ashraf, a UW student and CISPES supporter serving as a translator.

Romero joined the CISPES tour to emphasize the importance of U.S. neutrality in the facilitation of fair and free elections in El Salvador. She is a member of the ANDES 21 de Junio, the oldest teacher’s union in El Salvador, and a public school principal to approximately 1,600 students, many of whom come from low-income families.

“The union has been fighting the privatization of the local schools,” Romero said. “The privatization of education is dangerous for the people because they would have to pay for it, and it couldn’t be accessed by so many people. Right now, it is a free program that is giving back so much to the community. People with such small incomes would not be able to pay for the education and careers for their children.”

ANDES 21 de Junio continues to improve the quality of education by ensuring that training of the educators is relevant and competent. Romero explained that the union works internationally with other groups to build different methods of teaching to better the education received by the kids.

“It is really important for these kids to have this right to education,” Romero said.

Ashraf added that the FMLN has pioneered several programs to combat neoliberalism and privatization in El Salvador, especially when it comes to education.

“[The FMLN] was able to run a national literacy program and got free shoes, free uniforms, free meals for the children, and that was sometimes the only meal they would get,” Ashraf said. “The FMLN has made possible so that Salvadorans don’t need to leave their home to gain funds; they don’t need to come to America to gain money. They can start programs there, including social programs.”

Romero’s plea to the students of the university was to learn more about the issues of her country and to stand in solidarity with Salvadorans, who want the freedom to vote in complete fairness.

“We need to be organized in the world to help each other,” Romero said.

Hines added that all students had the power to make a difference by a simple action.

“The way that people could help is by calling their representatives and asking them to sign onto the ‘Dear Colleague’ letter,” Hines explained.

“In the world, there are only two classes: the oppressors and the oppressed,” Romero concluded.

Reach reporter Christina Cho at news@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @CCchews