TIME: Almanac 1995

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<text id=93CT1682> <link 90TT0553> <link 89TT3119> <link 89TT2549> <link 89TT0762> <title> El Salvador--History </title> <history> Compact ALMANAC--CIA Factbook Middle America El Salvador </history> <article> <source>CIA World Factbook</source> <hdr> History </hdr> <body> El Salvador's population is remarkably homogeneous, with almost 90% of mixed Indian and Spanish extraction. Of the minorities present, a few Indians have retained their old customs and traditions, while the vast majority have adopted the Spanish language and culture. An estimated 58% of the population lives in rural areas. Before the Spanish conquest, the area that is now El Salvador was made up of two large Indian states and several principalities. The indigenous inhabitants were the Pipils, a tribe of nomadic Nahua people long-established in Mexico. Early in their history, they were one of the few Meso-American Indian groups to abolish human sacrifice. Their civilization was similar to that of their Aztec cousins. Remains of Nahua culture are still found at ruins such as Tazumal (near Chalchuapa) and San Andres (northeast of Armenia). The first Spanish attempt to subjugate this area failed in 1524, when Pedro de Alvarado was forced to retreat by Pipil forces. In 1525, he returned and succeeded in bringing the district under control of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which retained its authority until 1821 despite an aborted revolution in 1811. 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. In early 1823, Gen. Manuel Jose Arce's army was defeated by the Mexicans. Before this contest was decided, El Salvador fearing incorporation into Mexico, petitioned the US. Government for statehood. In February 1823, however, 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 same year, the United Province of Central America was formed of the five Central American states under Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. As elsewhere in Central America, frequent revolutions have marked El Salvador's history as an independent state, although relative stability was achieved during 1900-30. The power structure was controlled by a relatively small number of wealthy landowners, known as "the fourteen families." The economy was based on the cultivation of coffee and prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. The economic elite ruled the country in conjunction with the military. From Gen. Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez's 1931 coup following his brutal suppression of violent peasant disorders until 1980, every president, with the exception of one provisional executive who served 4 months, was an army officer. Periodic presidential elections were seldom free or fair. In July 1969, El Salvador and Honduras fought a brief but bloody "soccer war" as the result of unresolved differences over a disputed border and the 300,000 Salvadorans who had emigrated to Honduras in search of land and employment. The catalyst was nationalistic feelings aroused by a series of soccer matches between the two countries. At some points, Salvadoran troops penetrated up to 29 kilometers (18 mi.) into Honduras. After 5 days, the Organization of American States (OAS) achieved a cease-fire and effected a Salvadoran withdrawal. A "pacification zone" along the border was agreed upon by both countries. The two countries formally signed a peace treaty on October 30, 1980, which established the basis for resolving the border dispute. Both countries have agreed to an International Court of Justice adjudication of the border question. Full diplomatic and trade relations have been restored. Toward the end of the 1970s, traditional Salvadoran political and social relationships were disintegrating, and the nation was fragmenting into armed camps. Radical leftist groups capitalizing upon social discontent gained strength and, by 1979, guerrilla warfare broke out in the cities and the countryside. The antiquated judicial system was unable to cope with the lawlessness; murder and executions by rightist vigilante "death squads" took a terrible toll as the cycle of violence grew. Opposition to the government's agrarian reform program engendered rural conflict. Repression by the poorly trained Salvadoran Armed Forces brought indiscriminate killings and played into the hands of the left. With the collapse of the Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua and increased external financial and arms support to the five guerrilla armies, the possibility of a Salvadoran guerrilla military victory became increasingly likely. During this period, the economic elite was split between advocates of harsh repression and moderate reform. On October 15, 1979, young reform-minded military officers joined with moderate civilian leaders to undertake a peaceful revolution. In January 1980, progressive civilians joined them to form a revolutionary junta. Jose Napoleon Duarte entered 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. Campesino (peasant) organizations in rural areas were strengthened. Most importantly, political parties were reactivated, and free and honest elections, monitored by international observers were held in March 1982. The newly initiated reforms, however, were not enough to halt leftist opposition. During 1980-81, Cuban and Soviet bloc aid, channeled through Nicaragua, permitted the violent left to coordinate its activities, accumulate massive supplies of war materiel, and upgrade its fighting capability. In January 1981, guerrillas launched a "final offensive" consisting of a combined military operation and a call for a popular uprising. The appeal for popular support was generally ignored, and the Salvadoran Armed Forces beat back the guerrilla attacks. Currently, the Salvadoran Government's authority is still being contested by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) - a coalition of Marxist/Leninist-led guerrilla organizations, and its political wing, the Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR). Violence during this period increased to levels unknown since the 1930s. Attacks against civilians, already on the increase, crested. The growing violence and terrorism of the guerrillas provoked a strong right-wing reaction. At the same time, the sweeping reforms begun in March 1980 provoked some of the extreme right to respond with violence against the government, moderates, and the left. On March 28, 1982, following 4 months of political campaigning, some 1.5 million Salvardorans elected 60 deputies to a Constituent Assembly. The election was overseen by the Central Elections Council, more than 200 international observers, and more than 700 members of the international press, all of whom reported that the elections were free and fair. Following that election, authority was peacefully transferred to Alvaro Magana, the provisional president selected by the Assembly. The Assembly served as an interim legislative body while drafting a new constitution for El Salvador. The assembly schedule presidential elections for March 25, 1984, while planning for legislative and municipal elections in March 1985. Eight parties participated in the 1984 presidential elections, and 1.4 million Salvardorans--more than 75% of those eligible--voted. Since no party obtained an absolute majority in the first round, a second round was set for May 6 between the two candidates receiving the most votes, Jose Napoleon Duarte of the Christian Democratic Party and Robert D'Aubuisson of the Nationalist Republic Alliance. Duarte won the runoff election with 54% of the vote, becoming the first freely elected president of El Salvador in more than 50 years. Current Political Conditions Many factors, some cultural and historical, others directly related to political conflicts, led to endemic violence in El Salvador in the early 1980s. Although the communist insurrection continues, overall violence against civilians has fallen drastically since the election of President Duarte in 1984. Politically, President Duarte dominates the center-left. His commitment to the agrarian, banking, and other reforms of the revolutionary junta's administration is unequivocal and accounts for much of his party's popularity. The Christian Democrats, with their victories in both the 1984 presidential and 1985 legislative elections, are the most powerful political force in El Salvador. The political opposition is, nonetheless, varied and vocal. The ARENA (Nationalist Republican Alliance) party, led since 1985 by businessman Alfredo Cristiani, remains the principal conservative alternative to the Christian Democrats. Hugo Barrera, a former vice presidential candidate for ARENA, formed his own party in 1985 (the Liberation Party) and intends to challenge ARENA for the loyalty of the center-right. A small Social Democratic party also has been formed. Labor unions, the universities, and the Catholic Church play major political roles. Two main labor umbrella groups represent most of El Salvador's 300,000 organized workers: the National Union of Peasants and Workers (UNOC) and the National Union of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS). UNOC represents the majority of El Salvador's democratic unions; UNTS is closely identified with the insurgent FMLN, and represents about 55,000 workers. The National University of El Salvador also closely identified with the insurgent left, was reopened by President Duarte after being closed between 1980 and 1984. A hotbed of radical activity, the National University is extremely vocal in its criticism of the government. Neither it nor the Jesuit-run University of Central America has been the object of government suppression of free speech. The Catholic Church plays a critical role as a mediator between the government and the guerrillas. The Church has mediated every major issue between the two parties, from the negotiations surrounding the kidnaping by guerrillas of President Duarte's daughter to arranging talks between the government and the insurgents. The dialogue process suffered a setback in 1986. After a series of Church-arranged preliminary talks in Mexico and Peru, the guerrillas finally refused to meet with President Duarte in the small town of Sesori in eastern El Salvador. President Duarte showed up alone, still asking that the guerrilla comandantes come to talk; they never did, instead launching an attack on a nearby village. The government remains willing to hold substantive talks (and the Church to mediate) but the guerrilla demands--effective demolition of constitutional democracy and powersharing--are unacceptable to a freely elected sovereign government. Talks between the government and the insurgents will remain a major topic in Salvadoran politics, but until the guerrillas, whose popular support is no more than 6%-10%, show more flexibility than they have hitherto, substantive dialogue may prove as elusive as ever. Legislative elections are scheduled for 1988, presidential elections for 1989. All major parties are expected to participate. The most important change in El Salvador since the early 1980s has been the establishment of democracy and the consequent improvement in the human rights situation. Without institutional control of the armed services, and recognition by the government and military that the basic rights of citizens had to be respected, El Salvador would have been unable to stabilize itself in the midst of a bitter war. Civilian deaths attributable to political violence fell steeply during the mid-1980s. Although no one source has definitive figures on political violence, all demonstrate a sharp decline. U.S. estimates show civilian political deaths falling from more than 5,000 in 1981 to about 200 in 1986. The guerrillas are now responsible for the great majority of such deaths, as they increasingly rely on terror tactics and political executions. El Salvador suffered a crippling earthquake on October 10, 1986; damage was estimated at more than $1.5 billion. The earthquake centered on the capital and left more than 200,000 homeless. Much of the government's attention was subsequently focused on reconstruction, diverting resources from social projects and the war effort. Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, November 1987. </body> </article> </text>