El Salvador and the Lasting Effects of US Aid

Throughout its history, has been riddled with political instability, economic disproportion, and especially revolutionary insurgencies. These insurgencies especially were perpetuated by the actions of the U.S. Government while under Carter’s presidential reign. Money and weapons were given to the military government of , which were in turn used to perpetuate a fruitless war between the revolutionaries and the oligarch-influenced military of the country. Although the did not instigate the civil war, they did anything but help to stop the war. Due to a great fear of a communist threat, very poor decisions were made on behalf of the president despite desperate efforts of pleading revolutionaries for the “aid” to be cut to the military government.

To set the stage

In order to understand the role of the in the extremely complex Salvadoran civil war, you must first understand how the war begun and what birthed such foul sentiment between the primary fighting groups. Early in the 19th century, specifically between 1879 and 1882, legislation was passed in the Salvadoran government that essentially forbade landholding in a village collective setting. Yet, the world coffee prices were rocketing during the 1880s, therefore the estates dedicated to farming this crop flourished and became the basis for the wealth of what was famously known as the “fourteen families” of . Until the actual democratization of Salvador in 1992, the country’s decisions were made by this oligarchy because of the grip they maintained through money. 1

These oligarchs continued their reign over the population for quite some time. Siphoning off nearly all of the income from the agricultural boom of the time, they maintained the immense economic gap between rich and poor. Middle-class was quite literally non-existent and still to this day remains a sight to be seen. In 1974, at least, the top 1 percent of the families in the capital, San Salvador, received more income than the top 50 percent of the poorest families.2 The “fourteen families” lived in absolute posh conditions, while the poor were rummaging through trash dumps simply to find something fit for recycling.

Long before the civil war and revolution began, remained an authoritarian regime. The government held elections semi-regularly, however, the competition was strictly limited and restricted. An example would be during the 1972 elections between the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) supported Duarte and the army-supported Molina. Although the PDC never fully supported or showed interest in the campesino well being, Duarte began to gain support throughout the country in small cities and municipalities. When the countryside began swinging in Duarte’s favor for the election, the national radio suddenly went dead. These limitations were also heavily influenced by the agrarian elites, or “fourteen families,” in that they would refuse any form of land reform or economic reform should it arise. In the rare case that a semi-leftist came to power, the oligarchy would “ask” the right members of the military to exercise a coup and restore what was seen as “order.”

With every small attempt and promise of reform to improve the conditions of the poor, the military would step in with the consent and support of the ruling agrarian oligarchy. Campesinos or farmers of the country thought revolution to be impossible due to the physical characteristics of the country. That was until the revolution in was successful and the idea of guerilla warfare was completely possible in such an environment.

Eventually, with the mounting tension between the poor looking for respectable conditions for living, and the oligarchy’s inability to release power or compromise, the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back was dropped. There was no single cause for the revolution but increasing poverty and growing landlessness was behind a lot of the poor sentiment. Revolution erupted in the country during one of the worst economic times the country has ever seen. Inflation rose 60 percent between 1973 and 1974. Such an immense hit to the economy forced poor desperate Salvadorans to join guerilla groups that robbed banks and carried out bombings throughout the country.As the economy grew worse and worse, the political middle began waning and eventually collapsed under the incredible pressure from both extreme ends. The left wanting reform and political activism, the right wanting no change in interests in keeping what little fortune they had left in tact. The poor economy affected the rich as well, however, not nearly as much as it had the poor.

Many different groups were springing up throughout the country. Although their focuses may have been different wholly, they at least in part threatened the system in the same way. Reform. People from around the countryside were joining these unions and students were helping to organize the campesinos. The military-government, however, seeing these as great threats to the system they were used to began stifling all demonstrations these groups conjured. One such example was during a 1975 demonstration against the frivolous spending on the Miss Universe spectacular that totaled well over 3 million dollars. The army opened fire into the marchers killing and wounding as many as 50 or more people. Many were also arrested or quite mysteriously “disappeared.”3

During this time, the took a one-sided interest in the success of the military during the revolution. Supplies and aid began to pour in. Despite minor attempts by military reformers to change the system that was in place, the conservative military leaders overthrew every internal coup attempt. With the help of the , the Salvadoran government was shown that they in fact had the firepower and means to stave off any revolution attempt. Carter was fully engaged in funding the military side of the revolution while under the assumption that were the campesinos able to achieve victory, another country would be lost to communism. What he didn’t realize though was the effects the weapons were having on the country.

Archbishop Romero of Salvador went to the and pleaded for the military aid and supplies to cease. He made the case that in order for the violence to stop the guns and money must stop. Much to his dismay, Carter decided against his desperate pleas and continued aid. Only a month later, while giving his last sermon, Romero said, “No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of god.” In an attempt to appeal to those in the military that were dissenting to the popular opinion to bring those responsible to justice, he was misinterpreted. Apparently some saw this as a command for the army officers to lay down their weapons. Romero was shot and killed during his last mass with a single shot in the middle of the chapel where he worked in a cancer hospital.4

Such horrible deaths were all too common in the country at this time. Death squads on each side were being formed and killing on a regular basis. The political polarization engulfed the country as well as the violence. Teams of men were commissioned by unconfirmed sources to specifically target and eliminate priests. During a time when the had approved democratic process as an approved system of government, priests were sent into communities to organize and gather people in order to be heard. To stop such organization, death squads were secretly sent from the government to eliminate specifically parish priests. In addition to priests, students were targeted for being organizers. During some of the bloodiest times, the death toll was upwards of 1,000 deaths per week. The death squads were not only issued by the military. In an effort of retaliation, the revolutionaries would commission bombings and killings of officers.

The past 20 years

Beginning in 1980, the revolution was still flourishing only by now it had taken a turn. The revolutionary groups were beginning to organize and collaborate efforts. With a group called the Revolutionary Coordinator of the Masses (CRM) they began to focus their efforts in one direction- promising agrarian reform as well as infrastructure nationalization. On the other side the right-wing military focused its efforts on using violence to stifle such efforts. Only a few days after the CRM made their claim of reformation, the National Guard, National Police, and others attacked a demonstration killing and injuring hundreds.

Throughout the 80s was a proliferation of a polar system consisting of a revolutionary and counterrevolutionary pole. With the victory of the Sandinistas in , there was an aggravated sense of urgency for the counterrevolutionary force to remain supreme in . Thus, the military aid and support under Carter still remained strong and grew larger than ever.

There was an attempt to instill an agrarian reform program that consisted of redistributing land to the poor. A program that was constructed in three phases only partially realized one phase and was dropped soon after. There were many factors that prevented this program from actually taking hold and doing what it was needed to do. Most of the land that was redistributed during phase one, was found to be unsuitable for any form of agrarian use. Yet another major problem was the economics of it all. With such land being dumped upon people that had been poor for so long, it was near impossible for them to generate the capitol needed to effectively farm even the most arable land. Thus, eventually the lands would fall into disrepair and ultimately end up back into the hands of some member of the oligarchy in one respect or another.

During the latter part of the 1980s there was a sense of equilibrium between the two factions. Neither gained any ground as both were trying new tactics finding that each only contradicted the other. As Reagan took office so did Duarte once again- Duarte found that Reagan kept with the Carter administration decisions and kept the money flowing.5
Revolution finally came to a halt in 1992. After signing a UN peace agreement, the two sides had come to a resolution. Although most had seen it as an FMLN or revolutionary victory, many still remained skeptical. The country was still in quite a state of turmoil and economic inequality even after such a victory. Most of the agreement had been instigated and helped along during 1987 by the Costa Rican president Oscar Arias. The suggestion was simple- have elections and let the winner win.

Now what

The agreement was called the Chapultepec Accord named after where it was signed. It detailed many changes in the way society and politics should be run. Those included were reforms to militarization (or demilitarization), the justice system, the electoral system, and the economic system.

The accord required that the military reduce its size by half and the army’s duties were limited to only national defense. The public security and safety responsibility be stripped from the military and be put into a newly created National Civilian Police force. In addition to the role changes, any officers that were violators of human rights were to be purged from the corps.

The justice system was to now require an Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman who served as a monitor for human rights throughout society. In addition to that there was to be a judicial system similar to that of the complete with an election process for Supreme Court justices whom are to oversee the activities of lower judges and courts. The rights of the accused are to be maintained and the entire process is to be de-politicized.

Elections experienced the largest change of all the systems. The country up until this point was accustomed to rigged elections or a coup to gain power. Opposition parties were now granted rights and everyone was guaranteed fairness during elections. This included truthful vote counting, fair and safe campaigning, and also free registration and voting.

Economically there was little change necessary. Both sides however agreed to make further changes as necessary per democratic process. There was to be a National Reconstruction Plan that would integrate the combatants of both sides into the national economy. Also the plan detailed the rehabilitation of conflictive zones and the regeneration of the terrain as whole, which had been destroyed from 12 years of conflict.7

Even after the accord however, there were still land distribution problems. Well over 85,000 campesino families received land from the agrarian reform program in full effect. However, when all was said and done, there was still well over 100,000 families still had no land to themselves. Rural landlessness is still a great problem in and will continue to be. One man was quoted during a demonstration as saying, “We thought the war, and then the peace, would make things better. But we’ve found that, in reality, there’s nothing for us. The war brought us nothing and peace brought us nothing.”8

Another great problem that is being dealt with in Salvadoran politics is local government. There is still very little funding for these local governments and immediately following the accord, members of cities and municipalities were excited to get things done. When presented with projects and ideas for improvement, local governments were and are still left with very little power or ability to do anything due to under funding. This generates a great deal of distrust and angst between local governments and the citizens of a newly democratized region. People are simply starting to believe that the system doesn’t actually work.9

A major and thriving problem still at work in as with most still-developing countries is the inequality of women. A far greater majority of women are in poverty than that of men. Surrounded by a culture of machismo, or subservience to a husband or male, women are constantly subjected to lower paying jobs, discrimination, domestic violence, and limited participation in social organizations. Textile assembly plants called maquilas are one of the few places women may actually find work. These maquilas however, are notorious for poor work conditions, low wages, and inhumane treatment. Many women still cannot find jobs even in the maquilas- these women are usually found working as street vendors or working in the homes of the wealthy, essentially doing anything to keep themselves alive and their children fed. With this problem surviving with so much strength, the birth of Gender Politics has begun in . Various movements are already beginning to organize and demand better conditions and rights. 10
still faces many economic problems and will continue to in the future. During the war years, the country stayed afloat and out of national debt because of the great amount of investment that was supplied by the . This provided a great stepping point for a fresh economy. However, that grace period of a fresh start is wearing thin and beginning to take its toll. 11

Violent crime is a large problem facing Salvadoran society still. By 1995, President Sol announced that 95 percent of the proposed reforms detailed in the accord had been accomplished. However, even with these immense accomplishments, crime had exploded after the end of the war. The murder rate in San Salvador alone at this time was higher than that of the crime rate in Los Angeles or Miami. 12

With the incredible odds they have been given, is slowly making its way into a formidable democratic society. Although I would love to say that Salvadorans achieved this by themselves and worked their way toward their democracy, this is sadly not the case. I would also love to say that the helped them accomplish this goal. In reality, was used more as a buffer for our own interests. When we had our focuses on crushing the “communist threat,” we used as an intermediary to supply the anti-communist movement in . Sadly, and apparently much to nobody’s dismay, we almost destroyed a country in the process. These weapons that were being supplied by Carter and then Reagan’s administration perpetuated a war that by any standards simply got out of control. Solely in our own interests, we targeted the revolutionary forces in as a communist threat and justified to the unknowing public that we must supply the murderous military regime. As the oligarchy sat back, watched and enjoyed their lives, countless military personnel alongside innocent campesinos lost their life. It took the intervention of a completely non-threatening country for to finally quit their culturally instilled war. As with any war-torn country, they are slowly repairing the damage that has been done. They have a great deal of problems still ahead of them, but they have proven through a 12-year civil war that they are a people of resilience and dedication to their causes.