Central America: End Game

Rivals fight in El Salvador

Under the glare of television lights, Major Roberto d'Aubuisson walked to the center aisle of the Blue Chamber in San Salvador's Legislative Palace and embraced his principal rival, Julio Adolfo Rey-Prendes. The gesture came at the end of the first meeting of the 60 delegates elected last month to El Salvador's new constituent assembly. But the display of friendship was deceptive. Behind the scenes, D'Aubuisson, the head of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), and Rey-Prendes, leader of the moderate Christian Democratic group, were locked in a struggle for control of the provisional government that is expected to be named this week to replace the civilian-military junta led by President Jose Napoleon Duarte.

Technically, ARENA, which has joined forces with the rightist National Conciliation Party (P.C.N.), commands the majority required to control the assembly. Together the two parties won 33 seats on March 28. But Duarte's Christian Democrats, who were favored by the U.S., emerged with the best results of any single party, 24 seats. Hoping to avoid further polarization of the war-torn country, U.S. Ambassador Deane Hinton has exerted strong pressure on the right-wing parties to include the Christian Democrats in the new leadership. The Reagan Administration fears that a right-wing government would weaken congressional support for U.S. policy in Central America.

ARENA and the P.C.N. have reportedly offered to give the Christian Democrats two ministries, probably Foreign Affairs and Justice, while retaining the top positions for themselves. In an attempt to placate the U.S., the rightist groups also vowed to maintain some of the reforms instituted in the past 2½ years.

In Washington, meanwhile, Nicaraguan Ambassador Jose Francisco Fiallos Navarro delivered an official note to Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Thomas Enders, expressing willingness to discuss an eight-point U.S. proposal for easing tensions between the two countries. The U.S. had offered a strong pledge not to interfere in Nicaraguan affairs if the Sandinista government stopped supporting the leftist guerrillas in El Salvador. The Administration did not respond formally right away.

Any U.S. reluctance to negotiate may have been heightened by the re-emergence in Costa Rica last week, after nine months of self-imposed exile, of Eden Pastora, the charismatic Comandante Cero of the Nicaraguan revolution. Accusing the Sandinista leadership of straying from the ideals of the revolution, he threatened to launch armed operations against them if they do not respect their promises to establish a pluralist political system and to retain a mixed economy.