The presidential nomination of Elias Antonio (Tony) Saca in El Salvador seems to be aimed at improving the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front's (FMLN) prospects of extending their stay in power, rather than at returning Saca to the presidency, said his former party colleagues, who accuse the leader of participating in a leftist conspiracy to divide the Salvadoran right.

Saca, who ruled the country between 2004 and 2009, is currently in the third place, with polls showing that around 15% of the electorate supports his election, a number below the 28.87 percent that intends to vote for the governing party's candidate, Salvador Sánchez, and the 30.38 percent who support Norman Quijano, the candidate from the opposition Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA).

But support for Saca - who won the presidency as a candidate from ARENA and was active in the party until his expulsion in 2009 - consists of votes that would otherwise go to Quijano, and ARENA leaders accuse the former president of becoming a key piece in the FMLN 's electoral strategy.

"Although he has no chance of winning, Saca announced his candidacy in order to divide the block of parties that espouse liberal thought," said Roberto D'Aubuisson, a congressional deputy from the ARENA Party.

"He was a part of the group of congressional deputies who broke away from my party to form another political party called GANA [Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional] with the purpose of forming a coalition that favors the FMLN's return to office by weakening the right. Ultimately, that is what he is looking for, because he has no actual chance of winning the election," he said.

In doing so, Saca would be following the footsteps of former Nicaraguan president, Arnoldo Alemán, who guaranteed the Sandinistas' rise and permanence in power after reaching a pact with Daniel Ortega, who is funded by Venezuelan oil this time around.

In return, Aleman received immunity for acts related to the misappropriation of public funds that would have taken place during his administration, which was plagued by multiple corruption scandals.

Saca is now looking to do the same with the FMLN, said Ernesto Muyshdont, vice president of ideology for the Arena Party.

"For us, it's quite clear. Here, the FMLN's strategy is to replicate what the Sandinistas did in Nicaragua, which is to make an alliance with a corrupt leader from the right in order to remain in power, guaranteeing that the latter's offenses remain in impunity in exchange," said Muyshdont.

"It is widely known that during his administration, Saca increased his personal fortune by at least 20 times, and that the profits of his companies were multiplied by 17 times," he said.

DOUBTS AND CHARGES

Corruption scandals involving Saca still chase him.

Ricardo Ernesto Núñez, a former member of the FMLN, introduced a formal complaint against the former president in late October, submitting documents that reveal the dramatic growth of his personal fortune.

Among the documents submitted, Núñez showed that Saca's assets increased from about half a million dollars to more than $10.5 million during his presidency, an increase of over 2,000 percent.

And that's just what is known, said Núñez.

"When he was serving as president [...] he proposed a legislative reform for the transfer of funds from the country's ministries into the secret presidential account, or for incidental expenses incurred by the Presidential Palace, a reform that allowed him to control a capital of around $219 million, to this day he has not been able to show what those funds were used for," said Núñez.

According to D'Aubuisson, Saca's candidacy is complicating the prospects for an ARENA victory in the upcoming elections.

Most polls show that if it weren't for the former president's intrusion, Quijano would have a good chance of winning the presidency on a first electoral round, in view of the popular discontent that has accumulated around the FMLN.

VOTERS CONFUSED

But Saca's candidacy is confusing many voters still linked to the opposition.

"He was elected to the presidency at the time under the banner of ARENA. He is now the largest owner of radio frequencies in the country [controlling almost 20 stations], which enables him to send abundant and constant messages that lead people to believe that he remains a part of the political opposition," said D'Aubuisson.

"In the countryside, they are saying that he is the same as ARENA. And he has sought to confuse voters, when in fact he has generated a perverse alliance to give an electoral advantage to the FMLN," he said.

Muyshdont said Saca has become an important part of the FMLN's strategy, by limiting Quijano's chances of winning the election on a first round.

During the second electoral round, in which only ARENA would compete against the FMLN, the government plans to make use of the hundreds of millions of dollars provided by the Venezuelan government.

"Today, the FMLN's strategy seems to be to prevent ARENA from winning on the first round by using Saca and to rely heavily on foreign funds to win the second round," said Muyshdont.

"We're facing four political forces that are against us; the FMLN, Antonio Saca, ALBA Petroleos (the Venezuelan regime), and the presidency of the Republic [currently controlled by the FMLN]."

Interestingly, the greatest impact is produced by the Venezuelan oil company's campaign.

"Here, ALBA Petroleos participates in political campaigning and spends copious resources on publicity. Their capacity is far larger than that of ARENA," said Muyshdont.