The+Civil+War+in+El+Salvador

By: Amber Hull


The civil war in El Salvador took place over 12 years, from 1980 to 1992. This civil war began when protesters against the military and coffee growers formed guerrilla movements and began military attacks against the government. Although this was a civil war, the fighting was greatly influenced by the world’s view. The United states ended up contributing billions of dollars to the Salvadoran military and government during the [|Reagan] administration, because it was thought that El Salvador was being exploited by the USSR, Cuba, and Nicaragua, who were all allies of the guerrillas. The United State’s stand in this matter was not wholly agreed with by it’s traditional allies, due to the military’s previous atrocious record with their citizen’s human rights. The war really had no true winner, as it ended in a stalemate, with 70,000 deaths and about 1,000,000 people displaced. As the external support was brought to an end with the end of the cold war in 1989, the war came to a close. In January of 1992, the government and the guerrillas signed a peace accord, which has caused a decrease in the size and power of the military, along with their police and security forces dissolving. With the end of the war and the election of the new President, Cristiani, the economy has begun to show improvement, but it is money sent back home from those Salvadoran’s working in the US, which provides the most income, which is not a very stable source of income. Another negative side to this source of income is that the recipients do not use it to invest in local businesses, which would boost the economy. (Gall, T. L., & Gall, S. B., 1999)

References:

Gall, T. L., & Gall, S. B. (Eds.). (1999). Worldmark Chronology of the Nations, Americas (2 ed.). The Gale Group.

Pictures:

http://www.weareca.org/index.php/en/era/1960s-Present/salvadorans.html