Yesterday, Jenna came back from a run in our neighborhood and asked if I’d seen the dead pigeon.

Me: What dead pigeon?

Jenna: It was on the hood of a car at the end of the flat street.

Me: No, I didn’t notice it.

Jenna: I didn’t see it the first time I passed the car, so I think it must have gotten there between my first and second lap. It was weird, it’s neck was all twisted like somebody killed it and put it there.

Me: You think somebody killed a pigeon and put it on someone else’s car?

Jenna: Well…the elections are coming up soon.

While I’m not so sure about the neighborhood pigeon conspiracy theory, Jenna’s right–the elections are coming up, and they are a little bit scary. After more than 20 years of far-right rule, the far-left FMLN party is favored to take the presidential election on Sunday. Now, the FMLN party is a kind of soft-communist party, and no one is quite sure what their government reforms would actually look like. I loved this quote from the Washington Post, “The FMLN candidate is a veteran TV broadcaster and morning talk show host, Mauricio Funes, whose Facebook page lists his political views as ‘other.’” Hee.

The scary part as I understand it isn’t necessarily what the FMLN party would do with their power, it’s what the country would do in response to the election of a “communist leader.” We considered serving as international observers for the election, looking for fraud, but, we’ve been told by Salvadoran friends to stay inside and off the streets on election day.  Instead, we’ll be having a breakfast party and movie day at our house.

During the time I studied in Thailand, the government made a crucial political decision about whether to dismantle one or more of the political parties. I don’t even remember the result of the decision, but I remember the dire warnings on the news that the peace could turn into violence in an instant. I remember the heavy feeling that mere blocks from where I was staying, people were rioting (peacefully at that point) in the streets. Of course, Thailand is famous for its bloodless coups and shockingly peaceful political upheaval. El Salvador is famous for its…civil war and persistently violent social unrest. Hmm.

Right now, the situation doesn’t seem overly tense. I’m not concerned for my own safety, but I am worried on behalf of my friends who will actually venture outside of heavily guarded neighborhoods to cast their votes. Please pray for peace this Sunday, March 15.