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El Salvador is a country in Central America with a population of approximately 6.9 million people. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the north and east by Honduras, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador is the most densely populated nation on the American mainland (especially in its capital, San Salvador), and also the most industrialized country in Central America. Its official name is Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, IPA: ). The country was named after the Spanish word for "The Saviour", in honor of Jesus Christ, and its territory was known prehispanically as Cuscatlán.
History Ancient history through 19th century In June 1524, Spanish Captain Pedro de Alvarado attacked Cuscatlán (land of beautiful jewels), which was populated by native tribes. After 17 days of bloody battles many natives had died. Pedro de Alvarado, defeated and hurt in his left hip, abandoned the fight and ran to Guatemala, telling his brother, Gonzalo de Alvarado, to continue with the conquest of Cuscatlán. Later, his cousin Diego de Alvarado, established the villa of San Salvador on April, 1525. King Carlos I of Spain granted San Salvador the title of city in the year 1546. During the following years, El Salvador developed under Spanish dominion within the Kingdom of Guatemala. Towards the end of 1810 a combination of external and internal factors allowed Central American elites to attempt independence from the Spanish crown. The internal factors were mainly the interest the elites had in controlling the territories they owned as they pleased, without so much involvement from Spanish authorities. The external factors that enabled such independence movement were the success of the French and American revolutions in the 18th century and the weakening of the military power of the Spanish crown because of its wars against Napoleonic France. The independence movement was consolidated on November 5 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matías Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for the insurrection. After many years of internal fights, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15 1821. On September 15, 1821, El Salvador and the other Central American provinces declared their independence from Spain. In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed by the five Central American states under General Manuel José Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador's early history as an independent state was marked by frequent revolutions. From 1872 to 1898 El Salvador was a prime mover in attempts to reestablish an isthmian federation. The governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua formed the Greater Republic of Central America via the Pact of Amapala in 1895. Although Guatemala and Costa Rica considered joining the Greater Republic (which was rechristened the United States of Central America when its constitution went into effect in 1898), neither country joined. This union, which had planned to establish its capital city at Amapala on the Golfo de Fonseca, did not survive a seizure of power in El Salvador in 1898. The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the process whereby land became concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy of several hundred families. A succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, throughout the last half of the 19th century generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, on the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, on the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, on the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labor for the coffee fincas (plantations), and on the suppression of rural discontent. The 20th century and beyond The coffee industry grew inexorably in El Salvador. As a result the elite provided the bulk of the government's financial support through import duties on goods imported with the foreign currencies that coffee sales earned. This support, coupled with the humbler and more mundane mechanisms of corruption, ensured the coffee growers of overwhelming influence within the government and the military which they used to create the Guardia Nacional (GN) in 1912. The duties of the GN differed from those of the Policia Nacional (PN), mainly in that GN personnel were specifically responsible for providing security on the coffee fincas and effectively suppressing rural dissent. A bloodless coup led by General Tomás Regalado took El Salvador into the 20th century. Regalado's peaceful transfer of power in 1903 to his handpicked successor, Pedro José Escalón, ushered in a period of comparative stability that extended until the Depression-provoked upheaval of 1931–32. In 1930, General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, the country's Minister of Defense, took power in a coup d'état. Soon after, Martínez, now President, suppressed a 1932 revolt consisting of farmers and Indians in the western part of the country. The revolt was conducted by the newly formed Communist Party and its leader Agustín Farabundo Martí. The military conflict left more than 20,000 people dead in retaliatory massacres, which came to be known as "La Matanza;" this marked the beginning of a series of de facto military dictatorships that would rule El Salvador until 1979, when General Humberto Romero of the Party of National Conciliation (PCN) would be overthrown in a reformist coup. Under the authoritarian rule of Maj. Óscar Osorio (1950–56) and Lt. Col. José María Lemus (1956–60) considerable economic progress was made. Lemus was overthrown by a coup, and after a confused period, a junta composed of leaders of the National Conciliation party came to power in June 1961. The junta's candidate, Lt. Col. Julio Adalberto Rivera, was elected president in 1962. He was succeeded in 1967 by Col. Fidel Sánchez Hernández. Relations with Honduras deteriorated in the late 1960s. There was a border clash in 1967, and a four-day so-called Football war broke out in July 1969. The Salvadoran forces that had invaded Honduras were withdrawn, but not until 1992 was an agreement settling the border controversy with Honduras signed. In 1979, politician Ing. José Napoleón Duarte of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) joined a Revolutionary Government Junta in a coup against then recently elected Presidente Romero (with the Carter administration's tacit acceptance and encouragement). He became the head of state and also the leader of the Junta (Primera Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno) in 1980. He passed a land reform and redistribution law that forced all landowners (except the government - the largest landowner) to restrict their holdings to 200 manzanas (1 manzana ≈ 6,400 m2), anyone holding larger amounts were forced to sell, and the land was then redistributed under various programs. This land reform law almost single-handedly ruined the economy of El Salvador (primarily agrarian at the time), and heavily contributed to the fall of Mr. Duarte's government. Having ousted the duly elected president, the situation rapidly deteriorated into a civil war, which would last for 12 years (1980-92) and claim the lives of approximately 75,000 people. A Second (1980) and Third Junta (1980-1982) quickly filled the vacuum and drafted a new constitution (1982). The Third Junta appointed Dr. Álvaro Magaña as president and called for National Assembly and Presidential Elections. The PDC gained the majority of seats in El Salvador's National Assembly, and beat out Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) candidate Roberto D'Aubuisson for the presidency on June 1, 1984. This ushered in a new democratic era in the history of the country and with the re-election of Mr. Duarte, the first democratic transfer of power in more than fifty years. During this time, President Duarte was receiving military aid from the United States to fight the FMLN, while the FMLN was receiving aid from groups both in the USA and other countries (Europe, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia). Complicating the situation were the actions of the ARENA party, which was proven to have had ties with death squads that were active in the country at the time. Finally, in the midst of increasing ineffectiveness, economic devastation, and a catastrophic civil war, PDC lost the 1988 elections and Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) candidate Lic. Alfredo Félix Cristiani was elected *. The war ended with a 1992 cease-fire and peace agreement between the government, the political parties and the FMLN. This agreement was brokered by US president Reagan and finalized by President George HW Bush. Among the victims of the war included Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who is believed to be one of the greatest apostles of the poor in Latin America, for delivering his message of peace and equality for all Salvadorans. He was assassinated while delivering his homily on Sunday, March 24 1980. The assassination was carried out by Rafael Alvaro Saravia, who in 1979 left the Salvadoran military, and from that time worked closely with Roberto D’Aubuisson. D’Aubuisson, in conjunction with elements of the Salvadoran armed forces and far right Salvadoran civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala and the United States, founded the far right political party Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (“ARENA”), which is now in power in El Salvador. D’Aubuisson organized death squads composed of civilians and military figures that systematically carried out politically-motivated assassinations and other human rights abuses in El Salvador. According to the 1993 United Nations' Truth Commission report, over 96% of the human rights violations carried out during the war were committed by the Salvadoran military or the paramilitary death squads, while 3.5% were committed by the FMLN. The civilian population in disputed or guerrilla-controlled areas was automatically assumed to be the enemy, as at El Mozote and the Sumpul river. The opposing side behaved likewise, as when mayors were executed, the killings justified as acts of war because the victims had obstructed the delivery of supplies to combatants, or when defenceless pleasure-seekers became military targets, as in the case of the United States marines in the Zona Rosa of San Salvador. During the war, a small group of 55 military advisers from the U.S. Military Group (MILGRP) helped to train government forces, which were heavily funded by the U.S. as well. In the meantime, the guerrillas of the FMLN were trained and funded by the communist government of Cuba and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, as well as supported by Western and several eastern European countries and the USSR itself, creating one of the last scenarios of the Cold War. After the fall of Communism in Europe, the conditions for peace negotiations were finally set. A ceasefire was established in 1992 when the rebels of the FMLN and the government of President Alfredo Cristiani of the ARENA party signed "Peace accords" on January 16, 1992 that assured political and military reforms and punishment for human rights abuses during the civil war; death squad activity was virtually eliminated and several of the military as well as the insurgent participants were granted pardons with the signing of the Peace Accords. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated the country, leaving 200 dead and over 30,000 homeless, damaging about 20% of the nation's housing. El Salvador is known for the many earthquakes that occur within its borders. On January 13, 2001, an earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale caused a landslide that killed more than 800 people. On February 13, 2001, a second earthquake killed 255 people and damaging about 20% of the nation's housing. An even worse disaster beset the country in the summer of 2001 when a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country's crops, causing famine in the countryside. Geography
Politics The political framework of El Salvador takes place in a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of El Salvador (Antonio Saca) is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Administrative divisions El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), and subdivided into municipalities (municipios). The departments include: Economy
Culture Spanish is the main language in El Salvador. The Roman Catholic religion played an important role in the Salvadoran culture. Important foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes. Painting, ceramics and textile goods are the main manual artistic expressions. Writers Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955), Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro Geoffroy, Manlio Argueta, and poet Roque Dalton are among the most important artists to stem from El Salvador. Notable 20th century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, artist Fernando Llort, and caricaturist Toño Salazar. The local flavour of Spanish, its slang, is called Caliche.
Demographics El Salvador's population numbers about 6.9 million people. Fully 90% are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish/European), 9% white (mostly Spanish, but also some French, German and Italian descent), and only 1% indigenous. Very few Amerindians have retained their native customs, traditions, or languages, especially in the wake of the deliberate government-inspired 1932 massacres. El Salvador is the only Central American country that has no visible native African population because of its relative inaccesibility to the Atlantic slave trade. In addition, General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez instituted race laws in 1930 that prohibited blacks from entering the country. Among the few immigrant groups that reached El Salvador, Palestinian Christians stand out. Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by President Antonio Saca and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by them. Spanish is the language spoken by virtually all inhabitants, although English is spoken by a small number of people in the capital. English is primarily spoken by professionals or those in the tourist industry, as well as deported gangsters of Salvadoran origin removed from major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles. The country's people are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic (96% of the population). The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.1 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador's population live in rural areas. Urbanization expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960's, driving millions to the cities, and creating growth problems for the cities around the country. According to the most recent United Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for women. Education in El Salvador is free through 9th grade. The national literacy rate is 84.1%. As of 2004, there were approximately 3.1 million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, many of whom are immigrants in the United States. The USA has traditionally been the destination of choice for Salvadorans looking for greater economic opportunity. Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Australia. The majority of the expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s and due to adverse economic and social conditions. Pursuant to peace accords signed in January of 1992 between the FMLN and the government, the government made a series of economic reforms in the mold of the free market model supported by the USA. These reforms have generally provided good results on all economic levels, although opposition party politicians allege that this is not the case. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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