El Salvador's new era

Mauricio Funes is now the president of El Salvador, and in his inauguration speech maintained the highly conciliatory tone that was the hallmark of his campaign.

I am quite sure that Gabriel Serrano was there to watch it all. He is the new mayor of San Julián, a Salvadoran town in the department of Sonsonate (you can see him here giving a speech). He is also a former student of mine, and I had the pleasure of having coffee with him a few months ago to chat about his campaign and all the challenges he faces. He defies all stereotypes, as he is unabashedly leftist but also a successful businessman with very strong ties to the U.S. He is absolutely passionate about helping to fix El Salvador's many ills. The more like him El Salvador has, the better.