Moakley’s Legacy
“[T]ruth, no matter how difficult, remains a far better basis than denial or concealment for uniting a people and building a nation…political tolerance and respect for law are essential to the fabric of any society and to the happiness and well-being of its people.”1
Congressman Moakley’s legacy in both the United States and El Salvador is an important one. While working tirelessly on issues related to his own congressional district, he simultaneously took on the cause of the people of El Salvador, motivated by the atrocities of its civil war and the violence that its citizens endured. His work to reduce U.S. aid to El Salvador was instrumental in encouraging the peace negotiations that ended the civil war. Even as conditions had begun to improve leading up to the Peace Accords, he continued to lobby for Temporary Protected Status so that Salvadoran refugees in the United States could give their country more time to heal before returning (and TPS still benefits Salvadorans today). His work as chairman of the Moakley Commission may not have resulted in further arrests or convictions for all of those responsible for the Jesuit murders, but it paved the way for an international acknowledgment of the truth behind the killings. Congressman Moakley’s actions in the mid- and late 1990s solidified his legacy as a unique combination of humanitarian and politician whose no-nonsense, “bread and butter” approach has had a lasting impact on El Salvador, its people, and their allies.
Exactly four months after the Day of National Reconciliation, on March 15, 1993, the El Salvador Truth Commission released its report on the human rights violations that occurred during the course of the civil war. It researched dozens of acts of violence, but used the Jesuit murders as its primary case study. The Truth Commission reached the same conclusion that the Moakley Commission had, and which Moakley outlined in his November 18, 1991, speech:
“There is substantial evidence that on the night of 15 November 1989, then Colonel René Emilio Ponce, in the presence of and in collusion with General Juan Rafael Bustillo, then Colonel Juan Orlando Zepeda, Colonel Inocente Orlando Montano and Colonel Francisco Elena Fuentes, gave Colonel Guillermo Alfredo Benavides the order to kill Father Ignacio Ellacuría and to leave no witnesses…There is evidence that, subsequently, all these officers and others, knowing what had happened, took steps to conceal the truth.”2
The report implicated the perpetrators of not just the Jesuit murders, but nearly all of the crimes that it researched; among other recommendations, it called for the dismissal of any of those individuals from posts in the military, civil service, or public offices. It the conclusion of its report, the Truth Commission called its findings “a lesson for reconciliation” and a “contribution…to restoring the institutional fabric of El Salvador.”3 It asserted that any attempts at progress were now in the hands of the Salvadoran people.
“…the Truth Commission’s report, while necessarily focusing on El Salvador’s past, has provided a road map for its future.”
In a statement on the Truth Commission report, Moakley called it “a shocking reminder of…why there is such a great need to see the current peace preserved.” He commended the commission for “condemn[ing] by name” those it identified, both right-wing and left-wing, as responsible for the violence of the civil war. He commented that “those who commit war crimes should not be allowed to hide behind the anonymity of war; by rather they should be tried, if not in formal court, then at least in the court of public opinion.” He also noted the similarities between the findings of the Speaker’s Task Force on the Jesuit murders and those of the Truth Commission. The U.N.’s Alvaro de Soto even told Congress that the task force “had laid the groundwork for [the Truth Commission’s] conclusions.”4 Moakley had felt very strongly that the officers charged with the murders did not act alone and had received orders from the military’s High Command; the internationally-recognized, United Nations-sponsored Truth Commission report validated that opinion and “reported the names of the perpetrators of those crimes for all time.”5
Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, the Truth Commission report met strong opposition in the Salvadoran government, despite the fact that government and FMLN actors had agreed to the creation of the commission during the peace negotiations. According to Teresa Whitfield, who chronicled the Jesuit murder case in a 1995 book, General Ponce called the report “unjust, incomplete, illegal, unethical, biased, and insolent,” while President Cristiani said that the report did not “respond to the desire of the majority of Salvadorans, which is to forgive and forget all about our painful past.”6 The right-wing ARENA majority in the legislative assembly responded to the report’s allegations with “sweeping general amnesty” for all those that the commission accused of crimes, and just weeks later, in April 1991, the government released the only two people convicted in the Jesuit murders, Colonel Benavides and Lieutenant Mendoza.7 Such disregard for the Truth Commission’s findings was likely very disheartening for Moakley, but as he noted in his statement on the report, even without justice, just knowing the truth could help El Salvador move forward.
The mid- to late-1990s saw other setbacks in El Salvador’s progress towards peace. Right-wing death squads renewed their practice of committing political assassinations, especially in 1994, with elections slated for April. In February of that year, Moakley made his third trip to El Salvador, this time to receive an honorary degree from the University of Central America for his work on behalf of the Salvadoran people. In a speech at UCA that was broadcast throughout the country by radio, he lamented the government’s inaction in halting such assassinations.8 He also promised to seek U.S. economic aid, rather than military aid, to help El Salvador rebuild after the turmoil of the civil war. Despite the death squad activity, however, the country had seen improvements in human rights issues, and Moakley had played an important part in that.9 Rodolfo Cardenal, UCA’s vice president, told a Boston Globe reporter, “[Moakley] is very well known and considered very, very important by the Salvadoran people in terms of human rights, peace and justice. We know from declassified documents that the armed forces and civilian government fear him.”10 In trips El Salvador in 1997 and 1999, Moakley would experience Salvadorans’ appreciation firsthand.
Tragedy and health problems marked the next two years of Moakley’s life. In May 1994, doctors diagnosed his wife, Evelyn, with a brain tumor. One year later, doctors diagnosed Moakley himself with liver failure. A prior blood transfusion had given him hepatitis B, so his was a complex case; in June 1995, he had a successful liver transplant. He thought about retiring, but his wife convinced him not to. Moakley lost Evelyn, his biggest champion, to her brain tumor in March 1996, In December of that year, Moakley’s increasing hip pain resulted in hip replacement.11 Although he had lost his irreplaceable wife the previous year, by November 1997, with his health problems subsiding, Moakley was ready to return to El Salvador.
The group that accompanied Moakley on his November 1997 trip included his now former aide Jim McGovern, who had recently begun his first term in Congress, representing what was then Massachusetts’ Third District, and the new U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, Anne Patterson, with whom Moakley had a better relationship than he had with her predecessor, William Walker. Between Moakley’s previous trip in 1994 and this trip, El Salvador had seen improvements; the political climate was more stable and human rights violations had decreased. Moakley and his group spent five days touring different parts of the country, including Santa Marta, whose residents held a special place in Moakley’s heart. Over the course of those days, Moakley was able to see firsthand the appreciation that the people of El Salvador had for him.12 The photographs below document the activities of the trip.
As El Salvador continued to work towards peace, justice, and improving the lives of its citizens, Hurricane Mitch made landfall in November 1998, decimating the country’s southeastern region. Although the United States’ Republican Congress had previously refused Moakley’s calls for increased recovery aid to El Salvador (which by then amounted to far less than half of the military appropriations during the civil war), in the aftermath of the hurricane President Bill Clinton ordered $250 million in emergency aid. Moakley and McGovern returned to El Salvador in November of 1999 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Jesuit murders and to visit areas affected by the hurricane. Despite the devastation caused by the storm, during this trip, Moakley felt hopeful. Buoyed by the positive relationship with Ambassador Patterson, continued democratic elections, a partnership that gave the Salvadoran police the opportunity to learn about community policing from Boston’s own police force, and his heartwarming visit to Santa Marta in 1997, Moakley called El Salvador “a country moving forward, a country with hopes and dreams.”13 The photographs below document several highlights from the November 1999 trip.
After returning from El Salvador, Moakley continued his congressional work for the next year. In early 2001, however, his health took a turn for the worse. On February 12, he announced that he had terminal cancer and would not seek reelection. He died on May 28, 2001, at the age of 74.14 The United States lost a great political leader, and El Salvador lost one of its fiercest advocates.
Although El Salvador today still faces problems, its situation has improved drastically compared to the years of the civil war. Congressman Joe Moakley achieved great successes in helping refugees and in paving the way for justice and peace in a country ravaged by civil war. It is difficult to imagine the country without his intervention. The civil war may have continued, resulting in thousands more lives lost. The United States may have continued sending military aid to a violent government, or sent innocent Salvadoran immigrants back to their country with uncertain futures. Finally, without Congressman Moakley’s tireless work as chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on El Salvador, the world might not know who was truly responsible for the Jesuit murders.
In an increasingly tumultuous political climate in the United States, with increasing hostility towards foreign countries and their people, Congressman Moakley’s legacy is an important one. His actions are proof that the United States can use its power for good in foreign countries where innocent people become victims of corrupt and violent regimes. To quote the Congressman, who invoked the legacy of the slain Jesuit priests in a speech at the University of Central America, “it is never a crime to speak up tor the poor, the helpless or the ill; it is never a crime to tell the truth; it is never a crime to demand justice; it is never a crime to teach people their rights; it is never a crime to struggle for a just peace. It is never a crime. It is always a duty.”15
Next: Oral History Interview Transcripts
Notes
1 Moakley, John Joseph, “DI-0627 Moakley's statement on the Salvadoran Truth Commission report,” The People's Congressman: Joe Moakley's Mission for Peace and Justice in El Salvador, accessed July 25, 2016, https://moakleyandelsalvador.omeka.net/items/show/175.
2 UN Security Council, From Madness to Hope: the 12-year war in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, by Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, research report no. S/25500 (1993), 46, PDF.
3 UN Security Council, From Madness to Hope, 178.
4 Mark Schneider, Joe Moakley’s Journey: From South Boston to El Salvador (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2013), 197
5 Schneider, Joe Moakley's Journey, 197.
6 Teresa Whitfield, Paying the Price: Ignacio Ellacuria and the Murdered Jesuits of El Salvador (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995), 389.
7 Whitfield, Paying the Price, 389.
8 Bob Hohler, "Moakley urges El Salvador to preserve peace," Boston Globe, February 22, 1994, accessed July 25, 2016, ProQuest.
9 Schneider, 217
10 Hohler, "Moakley urges El Salvador to preserve peace."
11 Schneider, 214-216, 222, 224.
12 Ibid, 229-232.
13 Ibid, 232, 245-246. Quote appears on page 246.
14 David Stout, "Joe Moakley, Congressman From South Boston, Dies at 74," New York Times, May 29, 2001, accessed July 25, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/29/us/joe-moakley-congressman-from-south-boston-dies-at-74.html.
15 “DI-1050 Moakley's remarks at the University of Central America,” The People's Congressman: Joe Moakley's Mission for Peace and Justice in El Salvador, accessed July 26, 2016, https://moakleyandelsalvador.omeka.net/admin/items/show/194.