( CNN ) -- Mauricio Funes was inaugurated Monday as El Salvador 's president , promising to work for the nation 's poor and disadvantaged . El Salvador 's new president , Mauricio Funes , takes power Monday after his inauguration in San Salvador . Funes , elected March 15 , is a member of a political party that waged guerrilla war against the government 17 years ago . He is El Salvador 's first leftist president . `` The Salvadoran public asked for a change , and that change begins now , '' Funes said in an inauguration speech before an audience that included Latin American leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton . Funes , a member of the FMLN party , won a narrow victory over the ARENA party 's Rodrigo Avila . Funes ' victory ended a 20-year hold on the presidency by the right-leaning ARENA . With Funes ' win , El Salvador joined other Latin American countries that have elected leftist leaders in recent years -- Venezuela , Bolivia , Nicaragua , Argentina , Honduras , Guatemala , Ecuador and Brazil . The FMLN , which is the Spanish acronym for the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front , was formed in 1980 as an umbrella group for five leftist guerilla organizations fighting a U.S.-backed military dictatorship . The guerrillas and the government signed a peace pact in 1992 , and the FMLN became a legitimate political party . By some estimates , 75,000 Salvadorans died during the war . The new president will find `` a country that still retains a lot of bitterness , a lot of division , '' Peter Hakim , president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue policy institute , said before the election . `` This country is completely divided , '' ARENA party official Adolfo Torres said on CNN affiliate TCS TV on election night . Funes acknowledged that division Monday , promising to `` create a country without hate and without resentment . '' He also seemed to acknowledge the difficulties ahead , saying , `` We do n't have the right to make mistakes . '' Despite a dire economy , Funes promised an ambitious social program that would include construction of 11,000 homes , scholarships for children ages 6 to 18 and improvement in delivery of water , electricity and sanitary services to 32 poor municipalities . He may be hard-pressed to follow through , some analysts said . `` Once Funes assumes office on 1 June , his government will face major challenges to boost the economy , cut government expenditures to trim the fiscal deficit and maintain support to the poor , who are being hit hardest by the economic downturn , '' analyst Heather Berkman wrote in a report last week for the Eurasia Group consulting firm . `` Cutting expenditures and reducing the deficit will be the most important challenges , '' Berkman wrote , adding that to `` do this , the Funes administration plans to cut government spending and eliminate redundant presidential commissions ; retarget propane subsidies ( and perhaps eventually eliminate them ) ; and propose a number of new taxes on alcoholic beverages , tobacco and new vehicles . '' Funes campaigned on a platform of fiscal reform that aims to increase the government 's tax take incrementally , Berkman said . Funes did not offer any details Monday , speaking instead in general terms of the El Salvador he would like to see under his five-year administration . He will not , Funes said , `` govern for a few or be complacent to corruption . '' Funes , a former freelance journalist for CNN en Español , noted in particular that his administration will fight organized crime and narcotraffickers . `` In this government , '' he said , `` those who have merit will be compensated and those who are guilty will be punished . ''
Mauricio Funes is inaugurated as El Salvador 's president . Funes of the FMLN party is El Salvador 's first leftist president . - The United States and Canada sign a treaty to establish an air defense zone over North America, known as NORAD ( North American Aerospace Defense Command ). Secretary of State Hillary Clinton among dignitaries at inauguration .