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This page contains links to web sites and pages having to do with El Salvador. The information is divided into the following categories:
Official Name People and History Government Political Events
El Salvador Economy Independence From Military to Civilian
Civil War Political Conditions Human Rights
Political Events, 1812
Spanish colonial troops quickly suppress revolutions in the captaincy general of Guatemala
which includes territory that will become Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, and Chiapas.
Political Events, 1821
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras declare independence from Spain September
14. A junta convened at Guatemala City makes the declaration
Political Events, 1932
Latin-America’s first Communist revolt, in January, follows the military overthrow of
El Salvador’s President Arturo Araujo, who was freely elected last year on a platform
to reform the nation’s feudal system. He has upset oligarchs and the army that have
so long dominated El Salvador. His vice president, Gen. Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez,
suppresses the rebellion, leaving 10,000 to 30,000 dead in what critics will call the
matanzas, or butchery.
Political Events, 1979
El Salvador’s President Carlos Humberto Romero, who came to power after disputed
elections in February 1977, is deposed in a military coup October 15 after months of
violence following the killing of 23 leftist demonstrators May 8. A new military junta
assumes power, begins to redistribute lands to the peasants, and makes other reforms after
47 years of military dictatorship. Violence continues
Human Rights and Social Justice, 1980
El Salvador’s leading human rights activist Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, 62, is
murdered by a sniper March 24 while saying mass in a hospital chapel.
Political Events, 1984
Salvadoran junta leader José Napoleon Duarte is elected president in May, defeating
ultra-rightist candidate Roberto D’Aubuisson who has been linked to death squads.
Duarte succeeds Alvaro Alfredo Magana, visits Washington in July, and persuades Congress
to provide increased economic and military aid.
Human Rights and Social Justice, 1990
Salvadoran leftist guerrillas and government negotiators agree July 26 to let a United
Nations team verify and publicize human rights abuses in the event of a cease-fire. Some
40,000 civilians have allegedly been killed by the army and government death squads but
killings have dropped dramatically in the past 6 years; no officer has ever been convicted
of any rights abuse.
In El Salvador, a military coup (Oct. 1979) failed to halt extreme right-wing violence and
left-wing insurrection. Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in Mar. 1980; from Jan.
to June some 4,000 civilians reportedly were killed. In 1984, newly elected Pres. Duarte
worked to stem human rights abuses. Leftist guerrillas continued their offensive in 1989.
A country of Central America bordering on the Pacific Ocean. Discovered in 1523, the region became independent from Spain in 1821. San Salvador is the capital and the largest city. Population, 4,949,000.
GDP: $10.9 billion.
Annual growth rate: 4.0%.
Per capita income: $1,974.
Agriculture (14% of GDP): Products -- coffee, sugar, livestock, corn, poultry, sorghum.
Arable, cultivated, or pasture land -- 67%.
Industry (22% of GDP): Types -- food and beverage processing, textiles, footwear and
clothing, chemical products, petroleum products, electronics.
Trade: Exports -- $1.83 billion: coffee, sugar, textiles and shrimp. Major markets -- U.S.
49%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 26%, European Union (EU) 18%. Imports -- $3.27
billion: consumer goods, foodstuffs, capital goods, raw industrial materials, petroleum.
Major suppliers -- U.S. 51%, CACM 15%, EU 10%, Mexico 4.7%, Venezuela 2.7%.
Exchange rate (1996 avg.): 8.7 colones = U.S. $1.
The Salvadoran economy continues to benefit from a commitment to a free economy and
careful fiscal management. The impact of the civil war on El Salvador's economy was
devastating; from 1979 to 1990, losses from damage to infrastructure and means of
production due to guerrilla sabotage as well as from reduced export earnings totaled about
$2.2 billion. But since attacks on economic targets ended in 1992, improved investor
confidence has led to increased private investment. Rich soil, moderate climate, and a
hard-working and enterprising labor pool comprise El Salvador's greatest assets.
Much of the improvement in El Salvador's economy is due to free market policy initiatives
launched by the Cristiani Government in July 1989, including the privatization of the
banking system, reduction of import duties, and elimination of price controls on virtually
all consumer products. The successor government of President Calderon Sol has continued
market liberalization, further reducing tariffs and enhancing the investment climate
through measures such as improved enforcement of intellectual property rights. Perhaps its
most significant achievement has been the opening of the telecommunications and electrical
sector to competition, a step that establishes the framework for the privatization of the
telephone and electric companies set to begin in 1997.
The post-war boom in the Salvadoran economy began to fade in July 1995 after an abrupt
shift in monetary policy was followed by a June increase in the value added tax (VAT) and
price hikes in basic public services. The slowdown lingered into the new year and the
Volume Index of Economic Activity (IVAE) declined throughout the first half of 1996, led
by a dismal performance in the retail sector. Inflation remained stubbornly higher than
expected, reaching a 10% annual rate by July 1996. The slump contributed to a
larger-than-expected government deficit. Tax revenues were down from early projections and
expenditures were up, due to an increase in teachers' salaries and government downsizing
at the end of 1995 that required payment of a special severance package. Virtually every
sector lobbied for a sectoral stimulus package, including tariff protection, tax cuts, and
special credit lines. The government took considerable criticism for its perceived
neglect, but steadfastly refused to intervene and spend the economy back to health.
The outlook improved toward the end of 1996. Key indicators, such as industrial electrical
consumption, cement consumption, and air cargo traffic were all up. The IVAE index began
to move up, but more importantly, the retail sector showed improved performance in the
third and fourth quarters. Prices of basic foodstuffs fell in September and October.
Inflation for the year was projected at 9.0% and real GDP growth was estimated at 4.0%.
In mid-1995, the government of El Salvador flirted briefly with the idea of switching to a
dollar economy, going a step further than the fixed exchange rate proposed by the
President. The government took a number administrative steps that substantially increased
the liquidity in the economy and helped fuel 1995's boom. Following intense pressure from
the World Bank, the government made the political decision to abandon the
"dollarization" idea in early 1996. Subsequent tightening of the monetary policy
by the Central Bank contributed to the onset of what the government called
"deceleration."
Fiscal policy has been the biggest challenge for the Salvadoran government. The 1992 peace
accords signed committed the government to heavy expenditures for transition programs and
social services. Although international aid has been generous, the government has focused
on improving the collection of its current revenues. A 10% VAT, implemented in September
1992, was raised to 13% in July 1995. The VAT is estimated to have contributed 54% of
total tax revenues in 1996; collections in the first nine months of the year were up 21%
over 1995, in part due to the rate increase, but also to improved collection techniques.
A multiple exchange rate regime that had been used to conserve foreign exchange was phased
out during 1990 and replaced by a free-floating rate. The colon depreciated from five to
the dollar in 1989 to eight in 1991, and in 1993 was informally pegged at 8.75 colones to
the dollar. Large inflows of dollars in the form of family remittances from Salvadorans
working in the United States offset a substantial trade deficit and support the exchange
rate. The monthly average of remittances reported by the Central Bank is around $85
million, with the total estimated at more than $1 billion for 1996. As of August 1996, net
international reserves equaled roughly four months of imports.
El Salvador historically has been the most industrialized nation in Central America,
though a decade of war eroded this position. In 1995, manufacturing accounted for 22% of
GDP. The industrial sector has shifted since 1993 from a primarily domestic orientation to
include free zone (maquiladora) manufacturing for export. Maquila exports have led the
growth in the export sector and in the last three years have made an important
contribution to the Salvadoran economy.
In 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence
from Spain. When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador
resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. Guatemalan troops sent
to enforce the union were driven out of El Salvador in June 1822. El Salvador, fearing
incorporation into Mexico, petitioned the U.S. Government for statehood. But in 1823, a
revolution in Mexico ousted Emperor Augustin Iturbide, and a new Mexican congress voted to
allow the Central American provinces to decide their own fate. That year, the United
Provinces of Central America was formed of the five Central American states under Gen.
Manuel Jose Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an
independent republic.
El Salvador's early history as an independent state -- as with others in Central America
-- was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-1930 was relative
stability achieved. The economic elite ruled the country in conjunction with the military,
and the power structure was controlled by a relatively small number of wealthy landowners,
known as "the 14 Families." The economy, based on coffee-growing, prospered or
suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated.
From 1932 -- the year of Gen. Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez's coup following his brutal
suppression of rural resistance -- until 1980, all but one Salvadoran President was an
army officer. Periodic presidential elections were seldom free or fair.
From the 1930s to the 1970s, authoritarian governments employed political repression and
limited reform to maintain power, despite the trappings of democracy. During the 1970s,
the political situation began to unravel. In the 1972 presidential election, the opponents
of military rule united under Jose Napoleon Duarte, leader of the Christian Democratic
Party (PDC). Amid widespread fraud, Duarte's broad-based reform movement was defeated.
Subsequent protests and an attempted coup were crushed, and Duarte exiled. These events
eroded hope of reform through democratic means and persuaded those opposed to the
government that armed insurrection was the only way to achieve change. As a consequence,
leftist groups capitalizing upon social discontent gained strength.
By 1979, leftist guerrilla warfare had broken out in the cities and the countryside,
launching what became a 12-year civil war. A cycle of violence took hold as rightist
vigilante "death squads" in turn killed thousands. The poorly trained Salvadoran
Armed Forces (ESAF) also engaged in repression and indiscriminate killings. After the
collapse of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua that year, the new Sandinista government
provided large amounts of arms and munitions to five Salvadoran guerrilla groups.
On October 15, 1979, reform-minded military officers and civilian leaders ousted the
right-wing government of Gen. Carlos Humberto Romero (1977-79) and formed a revolutionary
junta. PDC leader Duarte joined the junta in March 1980, leading the provisional
government until the elections of March 1982. The junta initiated a land reform program
and nationalized the banks and the marketing of coffee and sugar. Political parties were
allowed to function again, and on March 28, 1982, Salvadorans elected a new constituent
assembly. Following that election, authority was peacefully transferred to Alvaro Magana,
the provisional president selected by the assembly.
The 1983 constitution, drafted by the assembly, strengthened individual rights;
established safeguards against excessive provisional detention and unreasonable searches;
established a republican, pluralistic form of government; strengthened the legislative
branch; and enhanced judicial independence. It also codified labor rights, particularly
for agricultural workers. The newly initiated reforms, though, did not satisfy the
guerrilla movements, which had unified under Cuban auspices -- while each retained their
autonomous status -- as the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).
Duarte won the 1984 presidential election against rightist Roberto D'Aubuisson of the
Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) with 54% of the vote and became the first freely
elected president of El Salvador in more than 50 years.
In 1989, ARENA's Alfredo Cristiani won the presidential election with 54% of the vote. His
inauguration on June 1, 1989, marked the first time in decades that power had passed
peacefully from one freely elected civilian leader to another.
National Civilian Police
The new civilian police force, created to replace the discredited public security forces,
deployed its first officers in March 1993 and was present throughout the country by the
end of 1994. As of late 1996, the PNC had over 10,500 officers. The United States, through
the Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance
Program (ICITAP), has led international support for the PNC and the National Public
Security Academy (ANSP), providing over $28 million in non-lethal equipment and training
since 1992.
The PNC faces many challenges in building a completely new police force. With common crime
rising dramatically since the end of the war, over 110 PNC officers had been killed in the
line of duty by late 1996. PNC officers have also arrested a number of their own in
connection with various high-profile crimes.
Upon his inauguration in June 1989, President Cristiani called for direct dialogue to end
the decade of conflict between the government and guerrillas. An unmediated dialogue
process involving monthly meetings between the two sides was initiated in September 1989,
lasting until the FMLN launched a bloody, nationwide offensive in November that year.
In early 1990, following a request from the Central American presidents, the United
Nations became involved in an effort to mediate direct talks between the two sides. After
a year of little progress, the government and the FMLN accepted an invitation from the UN
Secretary General to meet in New York City. On September 25, 1991, the two sides signed
the New York City Accord. It concentrated the negotiating process into one phase and
created the Committee for the Consolidation of the Peace (COPAZ), made up of
representatives of the government, FMLN, and political parties, with Catholic Church and
UN observers.
On December 31, 1991, the government and the FMLN initialed a peace agreement under the
auspices of then Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar. The final agreement, called the
Accords of Chapultepec, was signed in Mexico City on January 16, 1992. A nine-month
cease-fire took effect February 1, 1992, and was never broken. A ceremony held on December
15, 1992, marked the official end of the conflict, concurrent with the demobilization of
the last elements of the FMLN military structure and the FMLN's inception as a political
party.
El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84-member
unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage and serves
for a five-year term. Members of the assembly, also elected by universal suffrage, serve
for three-year terms. The country has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court.
In March 1994, the first post-civil war elections were held with FMLN participation,
featuring simultaneous presidential, legislative, and municipal races. ARENA won 39 seats
in the Legislative Assembly, the FMLN 21 seats, the PDC 18, the National Conciliation
Party (PCN) four, and the Democractic Convergence (CD) and Unity Movement (MU) one each.
(The FMLN and PDC caucuses subsequently split.) ARENA presidential candidate Armando
Calderon Sol faced FMLN-CD coalition candidate Ruben Zamora in a runoff in April and won
with 68% of the vote. UN observers declared the elections free and fair. Armando Calderon
Sol of the ARENA party began his five-year term as President on June 1, 1994, and cannot
succeed himself. The next legislative and municipal elections will take place in March
1997, and the next presidential elections will occur in 1999. In the context of the 1994
presidential run-off election, ARENA and the FMLN agreed in principle to reform the
electoral system. As the March 1997 elections approach, however, practical implementation
of these reforms has proved elusive.
During the 12-year civil war, human rights violations by both left- and right-wing forces
were rampant. The accords established a Truth Commission under UN auspices to investigate
the most serious cases. The commission reported its findings in 1993. It recommended that
those identified as human rights violators be removed from all government and military
posts, as well as recommending judiciary reforms. Thereafter, the Legislative Assembly
granted amnesty for crimes committed during the war. Among those freed as a result were
the ESAF officers convicted in the November 1989 Jesuit murders and the FMLN ex-combatants
held for the 1991 murders of two U.S. servicemen.
The peace accords also required the establishment of the Ad Hoc Commission to evaluate the
human rights record of the ESAF officer corps. In 1993, the last of the 103 officers
identified by this commission as responsible for human rights violations were retired, and
the UN observer mission declared the government in compliance with the Ad Hoc Commission
recommendations.
Also in 1993, the Government of El Salvador and the UN established the Joint Group to
investigate whether illegal, armed, politically-motivated groups continued to exist after
the signing of the peace accords. The group reported its findings in 1994 stating that
death squads were no longer active but that violence was still being used to obtain
political ends. The group recommended a special National Civilian Police (PNC) unit be
created to investigate political and organized crime and that further reforms be made in
the judicial system. The government created the PNC's Organized Crime Investigation Unit
(DICO) and took other steps in response to the report, although not all the group's
recommendations have been implemented.
The peace accords provided for the establishment of a Human Rights Ombudsman's Office.
Victoria Velasquez de Aviles succeeded Carlos Molina Fonseca as Ombudsman in 1995.
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