Exchange: A View of El Salvador

Far from being “perhaps the most comprehensive portrait yet drawn of the inner workings of Salvadoran politics,” Gabriel Zaid’s article “Enemy Colleagues” is a confused and confusing polemic. Its publication, to the extent that it immobilizes Dissent readers with a “no decent alternatives” frustration, thereby serves current U.S. policy.

Before readers are swept away by Zaid’s seemingly encyclopedic knowledge (in comparison to the skimpy coverage in U.S. media), they should note that his main sources are Mexico City dailies and that he gives no evidence of having followed events in El Salvador firsthand.

Zaid’s main points are largely summed up in the cover blurbs...