68 year-old, Francisca Vibes, sits and stares at the ruins of what was once the apartments she lived in

On January and February 13, 2001, El Salvador was hit by two major earthquakes. The first killed 844 people. Thousand of other, mainly in Nueva San Salvador were lefted homeless and injured. Foreign aid poured in from all over the world. Just as the people of San Salvador were beginning to recover, another earthquake struck. This time, as well as the buildings destroyed, and the people injured, the water lines were broken, thus making clean water hard to obtain. On the people are rioting, accusing the goverment of withholding aid from them. More aid if despately needed. For more information click here

(from Informantion Please)

Officially Republic of El Salvador, republic (1990 est. pop. 5,250,000), 8,260 sq mi (21,393 sq km), Central America. The country is bounded on the south by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by Guatemala, and on the north and east by Honduras. The capital and largest city is San Salvador.

Land and People

Two volcanic ranges, running roughly west to east, segment the country, but in between are broad, fertile valleys, such as that of the Lampa, the principal river. There are several fairly large lakes. The country is divided into seven provinces. El Salvador is the smallest Latin American republic and the most densely populated; overpopulation is a critical problem. The vast majority of the population is of mixed indigenous and European descent. Spanish is the official language and Roman Catholicism the revailing religion. There is, however, substantial activity by evangelical Protestant groups.

Economy

El Salvador's economy is primarily agricultural, with farming employing about 40% of the workforce and accounting for a quarter of the gross national product. Nonetheless, it is more highly industrialized than its neighbors. El Salvador's economy was adversely affected by its 12-year civil war. Beginning in the early 1990s, however, attempts were made to revive the country's economic life.

Two thirds of the land is used for either crops or pasturage. Corn is the chief subsistence crop, and rice, beans, oilseeds, sorghum, and wheat are also grown; coffee is the major cash crop. Textiles, processed foods, clothing, tobacco products, and chemicals are among El Salvador's leading manufactures. The Inter-American Highway crosses El Salvador and forms the heart of an excellent transportation system that links San Salvador with the ports of La Unión, Acajutla, and La Libertad and the inland cities of San Miguel and Santa Ana.

Coffee is the main export, accounting for nearly half of El Salvador's export income. Other exports include cotton and sugar. The leading imports are petroleum products, consumer goods, foodstuffs, and machinery. Government

El Salvador is governed under the 1991 constitution. The president is popularly elected for a five-year term and may not succeed himself. The members of the 60-seat unicameral legislature are elected for three-year terms under a system of proportional representation. The principal parties are the National Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Christian Democratic party. Despite this democratic structure, El Salvador has been under military dictatorship for most of its history.

History

Before the arrival of the Spaniards, El Salvador was inhabited by the Pipils, descendants of the Aztecs and the Toltecs of Mexico, who had arrived in the 12th century. In 1524 Pedro de Alvarado landed and began a series of campaigns that resulted in Spanish control. With independence from Spain in 1821, it became briefly a part of the Mexican Empire of Augustín de Iturbide, and after the empire collapsed (1823) El Salvador joined the Central American Federation. El Salvador protested the dominance of Guatemala and under Francisco Morazán succeeded in having the federal capital transferred (1831) to San Salvador. After the dissolution of the federation (1839), the republic was plagued by frequent interference from the dictators of neighboring countries, notably Rafael Carrera and Justo Rufino Barrios of Guatemala and José Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua.

The primacy of coffee cultivation in the economy began in the second half of the 19th century. Intense cultivation led to the predominance of landed proprietors. The economy became vulnerable to fluctuations in the world market price for coffee. In 1931, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, capitalizing on discontent caused by the collapse of coffee prices, led a coup d'etat. His dictatorship lasted until 1944, after which there was chronic political unrest.

Under the authoritarian rule of Major Oscar 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 in 1969 Honduras passed land laws discriminating against immigrants from El Salvador. War broke out following a tension-filled soccer match between the two nations in July, 1969. After four days the Organization of American States imposed a cease-fire. The Salvadoran forces that had invaded Honduras were withdrawn, but not until 1992 was an agreement settling the border controversy with Honduras signed.

In the 1970s El Salvador's overpopulation, economic problems, and inequitable social system led to social and political unrest, which was countered by harsh repression by the ARENA-run government. The unrest eventually reached full civil war between the government and the leading oppositional group, the Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Despite the election (1984) of José Napoleon Duarte, considered a moderate, as president, the conflict continued. In 1989 Alfredo Cristiani, a leader of the right-wing ARENA party, was elected to the presidency, resulting in an escalation of the war for a brief period. In 1991, however, the Cristiani government, with help from the United Nations, negotiated with the FMLN. That year a peace treaty with the rebels was finally signed, ending the 12-year civil war.

Bibliography

See T. P. Anderson, Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932 (1971); David Browning, El Salvador: Landscape and Society (1971); Alastair White, El Salvador (1973); P. L. Russell, El Salvador in Crisis (1984); James Dunkerley, The Long War: Dictatorship and Revolution in El Salvador (1985); R. A. Haggerty, ed., El Salvador, a Country Study (1990).

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition Copyright ©1993, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Inso Corporation. All rights reserved.