ABSTRACT
There was a more efficient way of altering electoral results—before the election took place—through the computer. There is abundant evidence that citizens were prevented from voting through a variety of electronic machinations. The departmental Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in Sensuntepeque remedied this situation by midmorning: it set up microfiche machines with the master voting list in a gazebo in the center of the plaza. The TSE continued its incompetent and unprofessional behavior. The TSE was prepared to allow President Cristiani, who was waiting with Armando Calderon Sol in a room adjacent to the main ballroom of the four-star Presidente Hotel, to claim a first-round victory. In most cultures everyone loves a winner; among poor and marginalized Latin Americans this has been a critical factor in their continuing electoral support for elitist governments that, by most measures, have not ruled in their interests.
