Title: Background Note: El Salvador
PA
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Description: Historical, Political and Economic Overviews of the
Countries of the World
Date: Feb, 15 19932/15/93
Category: Country Data
Region: Central America
Country: El Salvador
Subject: Travel, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics, Military Affairs, Cultural Exchange,
State Department
[TEXT]
Official Name:
Republic of El Salvador
PROFILE
Geography
Area:
21,476 sq. km. (8,260 sq. mi.); about the size of
Massachusetts.
Cities:
Capital--San Salvador (pop. 1.4 million). Other
cities--Santa Ana, San Miguel.
Terrain:
Mountains separate country into three distinct
regions: southern coastal belt; central valleys and plateaus; and
northern mountains.
Climate:
Semitropical, distinct wet and dry seasons.
People
Nationality:
Noun and adjective--Salvadoran(s).
Population (1992 est.):
5 million.
Annual growth rate (1992):
3%.
Density:
235 per sq. km. (635 per sq. mi.).
Ethnic groups:
Mestizo 89%, Indian 10%, Caucasian 1%.
Religion:
Largely Roman Catholic, with growing Protestant
groups throughout the country.
Language:
Spanish.
Education:
Years compulsory--6. Attendance--82%.
Literacy--65% among adults.
Health:
Infant mortality rates--49/1,000 in 1990. Life
expectancy rate (1990)--males 62 yrs., females 68 yrs.
Work force--(2.5 million):
Agriculture--40%. Services--
27%. Industry--16%.
Government
Type:
Republic.
Constitution:
December 20, 1983.
Independence:
September 15, 1821.
Branches:
Executive--president and vice president.
Legislative--84-member National Assembly. Judicial--independent
(Supreme Court).
Administrative subdivisions:
14 departments.
Political parties:
Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA),
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), National Conciliation Party
(PCN), Authentic Christian Movement (MAC), Nationalist
Democratic Union (UDN), Social Democratic Party (PSD),
National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Popular Social
Christian Movement (MPSC), National Solidarity Movement
(MSN), Free People (PL). As a result of the peace agreement
with the Government of El Salvador in 1992, the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) guerrillas became a
political party after disarming and demobilizing its forces.
Suffrage:
Universal at 18.
Flag:
Two turquoise blue horizontal stripes and a white
middle; in the center, a coat of arms inscribed "1821," the year of
independence from Spain.
Economy
GDP (1992 est.):
$5.1 billion.
Annual growth rate (1992 est.):
4%.
Per capita income:
$1,160.
Avg. inflation rate (1992):
20%.
Agriculture:
10% of GDP. Products--coffee (30% of
agricultural output), cotton, sugar, livestock, corn,
poultry, sorghum. Arable, cultivated, or pasture land--67%.
Industry:
19% of GDP. Types--food and beverage
processing, textiles, footwear and clothing, chemical products,
petroleum products.
Trade (1992 est.):
Exports--$683 million: coffee, sugar,
cotton and shrimp. Partners--US 41%, EC 30%, Central
American Common Market 10%, Japan 4%, Germany 2%. Imports--
$1.5 billion: consumer goods, food stuffs, machinery, autos,
petroleum. Partners--US 41%, Guatemala 12%, Venezuela 7%,
Mexico 7%, Germany 5%, Japan 4%.
Exchange rate (1992):
8.7 colones=$1.
PEOPLE
About 90% of El Salvador's population are of Indian and
Spanish extraction. Very few Indians have retained their
customs and traditions. An estimated 58% of the population
lives in rural areas.
HISTORY
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 became one of the few Meso-
American Indian groups to abolish human sacrifice. Otherwise,
their culture was similar to that of their Aztec neighbors.
Remains of Nahua culture are still found at ruins such as San
Andres (northeast of Armenia) and Tazumal (near Chalchuapa).
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 abortive
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 the period from 1900 to 1930.
The power structure was controlled by a relatively small
number of wealthy landowners, known as "the 14 families."
The economy, based on the cultivation of coffee, 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 1932 coup,
following his brutal suppression of rural resistance, 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 the brief
"soccer war" over disputed border areas and friction caused
over 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. Salvadoran forces penetrated as
far as 29 kilometers (18 mi.) into Honduras. The two
countries formally signed a peace treaty on October 30, 1980,
which put the border dispute before the International Court
of Justice. In September 1992, the court issued a 400-page
ruling, awarding much of the disputed land to Honduras (see
maps on next page). Currently, excellent diplomatic and
trade relations exist between El Salvador and Honduras.
During the 1970s, the political, social, and economic
situation began to deteriorate. The military leadership
created its own party, the National Conciliation Party (PNC),
which nominated Colonel Arturo Molina in the 1972
presidential election. The opposition united under Jose
Napoleon Duarte, leader of the Christian Democratic Party
(PDC). Amid widespread fraud, Duarte's broad-based reform
movement was defeated. Subsequent protests and an attempted
coup were crushed, and Duarte was exiled. These events
eroded hope of reform through democratic means and persuaded
many opponents of military rule that armed insurrection was
the only way to achieve change. Leftist groups capitalizing
upon social discontent gained strength and, by 1979,
guerrilla warfare had broken out in the cities and the
countryside.
The cycle of violence accelerated as rightist vigilante
"death squads" killed thousands. The poorly trained
Salvadoran armed forces (ESAF) also engaged in repression and
indiscriminate killings. The country's antiquated judicial
system was unable to cope with the lawlessness. Opposition
to the government's agrarian reform program engendered rural
conflict. After the collapse of the Somoza regime in
Nicaragua in 1979, the new Sandinista Government provided
large amounts of arms and munitions to five guerrilla groups,
and a military victory by the guerrillas appeared possible.
On October 15, 1979, 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. Christian Democratic
Party leader 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. Political
parties were allowed to function again, and on March 28,
1982, Salvadorans elected 60 deputies to a constituent
assembly. The election was observed by more than 200
international representatives and more than 700 members of
the international press. All observers 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 1983 constitution, drafted by the assembly, strengthened
individual rights, established safeguards against excessive
provisional detention and unreasonable searches, established
a republican, pluralistic form of government, strengthened
the legislative branch, and enhanced judicial independence.
It also codified labor rights, particularly for agricultural
workers. The newly initiated reforms, however, did not
satisfy the guerrilla movements, which had unified under
Cuban auspices as the Farabundo Marti National Liberation
Front (FMLN).
The constituent assembly scheduled presidential elections for
March 1984, while planning for legislative and municipal
elections in March 1985. Jose Napoleon Duarte won the
presidential election against Roberto D'Aubuisson of the
Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) with 54% of the vote
and became the first freely elected President of El Salvador
in more than 50 years. Voters returned to the polls in 1985
and 1988 to vote in legislative and municipal elections. In
March 1989, ARENA's Alfredo Cristiani won the presidential
election with 54% of the vote. President Cristiani's
inauguration on June 1, 1989, marked the first time in
decades that power had passed peacefully from one freely
elected civilian leader to another.
In 1990, reform of the electoral system expanded the assembly
from 60 to 84 deputies in order to broaden the base of
representation from the smaller parties and increase the
opportunity for the parties of the left to win office. In
the March 1991 assembly election, the Nationalist Republican
Party (ARENA), Christian Democratic Party (PDC), National
Conciliation Party (PCN), the Democratic Convergence (CD)
coalition, Authentic Christian Movement (MAC) and Nationalist
Democratic Union (UDN) ran candidates for the 84 seats in
Legislative Assembly as well as mayors and town councils in
the nation's 262 municipalities. ARENA lost its majority in
the Legislative Assembly but won 44% of the vote (39
deputies) and 177 municipalities. The PDC received 28% of
the vote (26 deputies) and 69 municipalities. The election
gave the CD eight deputies, the PCN nine, and the MAC and UDN
one each.
Negotiations
Upon his inauguration in June 1989, President Cristiani
called for direct dialogue between the government and the
guerrillas. An unmediated dialogue process involving monthly
meetings between the two sides was initiated in September
1989, lasting until the FMLN launched a bloody nationwide
offensive in November 1989.
In early 1990, following a request from the Central American
presidents, the UN became involved in an effort to mediate
direct talks between the two sides. The government and the
guerrillas met under UN auspices in May and agreed to meet
monthly to achieve a negotiated political solution to the
conflict and to bring about the demobilization and
reintegration of the FMLN December 1990, but little progress
was made.
In September 1991 the government, represented by President
Cristiani, and the FMLN accepted an invitation from the UN
Secretary General to meet in New York City to seek a
resolution to issues creating an impasse in the negotiations.
On September 25, the two sides signed the New York City
accord. It concentrated the negotiating process into one
phase in order to establish, before a cease-fire, the
necessary conditions and guarantees for the reintegration of
FMLN members into Salvadoran society within a framework of
full legality. The two sides agreed to create the Committee
for the Consolidation of the Peace (COPAZ), made up of
representatives of the government, FMLN, and political
parties, with Catholic Church and UN observers. The direct
participation of President Cristiani and Secretary General
Javier Perez de Cuellar was crucial to this breakthrough.
On December 31, 1991, the government and the FMLN signed an
agreement under the auspices of Secretary-General Perez de
Cuellar. The final agreement, called the Accords of
Chapultepec, was signed in Mexico City on January 16, 1992.
The cease-fire took effect February 1, 1992, and was to last
9 months before the war would be declared officially ended.
Peace Process
The Chapultepec Accord included a 2-year timetable setting
requirements for the completion of different aspects of the
troop reduction accords. Most importantly, the cease-fire
survived without a single violation. It ended on December
15, 1992, when the last elements of the FMLN military
structure were demobilized.
Most of the FMLN's declared arms inventory was destroyed by
the end of the year. Concurrent with the dismantling of its
military structure, the FMLN became a legal political party.
World dignitaries, including UN Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali and former Vice President Quayle, attended a
December 15, 1992, ceremony marking these events. In March
1994, the FMLN will participate in elections which, for the
first time, will feature simultaneous presidential,
legislative, and municipal races. Many observers believe
these elections will mark the de facto end of the Salvadoran
peace process.
The peace process has been monitored by the UN Mission to El
Salvador (known by its Spanish acronym ONUSAL), which at its
peak had close to 1,000 observers in the country. ONUSAL is
divided into three contingents: human rights, military, and
police. The UN is expected to maintain some type of presence
in the country through the March 1994 elections.
Demobilization of Salvadoran military forces generally
proceeded on schedule throughout the process. By early
January 1993, all but one of the immediate reaction
battalions had been demobilized (with the final due to
demobilize on February 8). The treasury police and national
guard were abolished, and the intelligence service was
transferred to civilian control. By February 1993, the
military had lowered force levels from a wartime high of
63,000 to the level of 32,000 required in the Peace Accords;
this was achieved 9 months ahead of schedule. President
Cristiani began the required purge of military officers
accused of human rights abuses and corruption in early
January 1993; however, he has delayed the completion of the
process.
The training of the new civilian police began several months
late with the opening of its academy in September 1992, but
the establishment of the force continued otherwise on
schedule. Cadets from the academy successfully served as
temporary police in ex-conflict zones. The first academy
class graduated at the beginning of February 1993, with an
additional class to follow each month. These first classes
will be deployed directly to ex-conflict zones.
Land transfers proved to be a serious source of contention
between the government and the FMLN in the early stages of
the cease-fire, but an agreement brokered by the UN Secretary
General in September established a three-phase program to
transfer land to former guerrillas, their supporters, and
former soldiers. By the end of 1992, the first phase was
well underway with the second phase ready to begin.
Principal Government Officials
The Government of El Salvador is a democratic republic
governed by the president and Legislative Assembly. Alfredo
Cristiani of the ARENA party began his 5-year term as
President on June 1, 1989, and cannot succeed himself.
President--Alfredo Felix Cristiani Burkard
Vice President--Jose Francisco Merino Lopez
Minister of Foreign Relations--Jose Manuel Pacas Castro
Ambassador to the United States--Miguel Angel Salaverria
Representative to the OAS--Jose Roberto Andino Salazar
Representative to the UN--Ricardo Castaneda
El Salvador maintains an embassy in the United States at 2308
California Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-265-
9671). There are consulates in Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Political, historical, and cultural factors led to the
endemic violence that El Salvador suffered beginning in the
early 1980s. The commitment to social reform, the
institutionalization of democracy, and the increased
professionalism of the armed forces (ESAF) were the keys to
the drop in violence in the mid-1980s. Despite the sincere
efforts at reform by the Duarte Administration, its failures
to improve the economy, allegations of corruption, and poor
relations with the private sector disappointed many
Salvadorans. Duarte's attempts to manage the country were
hindered by a massive earthquake, guerrilla raids, and
historically low prices for the nation's main agricultural
exports: coffee, sugar, and cotton. These factors
contributed to the ARENA victories in the 1988 legislative
elections and the 1989 presidential elections.
ARENA is the leading party of El Salvador's political right.
It was organized in 1982 by Roberto D'Aubuisson and other
ultra-rightists. His electoral fortunes were diminished by
credible reports that he was involved in organized political
violence. Following the defeat of D'Aubuisson in the 1984
presidential election, ARENA sought to moderate its image and
reach out to other elements in society, particularly the
private sector. By 1989, the party had attracted the support
of business groups and had nominated Alfredo Cristiani--a
moderate businessman and coffee grower--as its presidential
candidate. ARENA was thus well positioned to benefit from
popular discontent with the Duarte Administration.
Along with ARENA and the Christian Democratic Party, several
other vocal political parties play roles in Salvadoran
democracy: the Democratic Convergence, nominally a coalition
of three leftist parties but essentially a new name for the
Popular Social Christian Movement, a party led by Ruben
Zamora; the National Conciliation Party, created by the
Salvadoran military and allied with ARENA in the assembly;
and the National Solidarity Movement, a new party based in
the Salvadoran evangelical movement. As a result of the
peace agreement with the Government of El Salvador in 1992,
the FMLN became a political party after disarming and
demobilizing its forces.
Labor unions, the universities, and the Catholic Church play
major roles in the Salvadoran political system. Two main
labor umbrella groups represent most of El Salvador's 300,000
organized workers. The Democratic National Union of Peasants
and Workers (UNOC) represents some 250,000 workers, and its
leadership is closely linked to the PDC. The National Union
of Salvadoran Workers (UNTS) represents about 55,000 workers
and other supporters. UNTS usually hews to the FMLN line in
political matters, and four members of the UNTS executive
committee became official founders of the FMLN political party.
The National University of El Salvador (UES) has also been
heavily influenced by the FMLN. UES was closed by the
military from 1980 until 1984, when it was reopened by
President Duarte; it also was closed for several months in
the aftermath of the November 1989 offensive. A number of
private universities, including the Jesuit-run University of
Central America also operate in El Salvador. Since the late
1970s, when Archbishop Romero (assassinated in 1980) called
for an end to repression and for social justice, the Catholic
church has been a vocal and aggressive advocate of peace.
The church mediated the 1984 dialogue between the government
and the guerrillas, and the release of then-president
Duarte's daughter, whom the guerrillas had abducted.
Human Rights
During the 12-year civil war, human rights violations by both
left and right-wing forces were rampant. There were
incidents of political killings, torture of detainees,
arbitrary arrest, and forced recruitment by the ESAF. There
were also cases of killings, kidnapings, abuse of non-
combatants, intimidation of civilians, and forced recruitment
by the FMLN. Right-wing death squads took advantage of this
chaotic environment to engage in political assassinations.
Many individuals and institutions acted with virtual impunity
from a judicial system overwhelmed by the magnitude of the
bloodshed and burdened with corruption. The United Nations
reported a dramatic decline in political killings by all
sides and other violations since 1991, and reports that the
human rights situation in El Salvador continued to improve
during 1992. This is largely a reflection of the cease-fire
agreement of December 1991 and the commitment by the
government and the FMLN not to derail the peace process. In
part, the decline in human rights abuses also may reflect a
growing commitment to judicial accountability in El Salvador.
The government and the FMLN both express a commitment to end
human rights abuses and are cooperating with a truth
commission established under UN auspices to investigate and
prosecute the most serious cases of human rights abuses
during the civil war.
Although many cases go unresolved, there is a growing
commitment to prosecute human rights offenders. A sign of
this improvement was the conviction of a high ranking
military officer for the murder of six Jesuit priests, the
priests' house-keeper, and her daughter in November 1989. An
investigation by the US-trained and equipped Special
Investigative Unit revealed the participation of an ESAF
unit. On September 28, 1991, a jury found Col. Guillermo
Bendavides guilty of having ordered the murders. Lt. Yusshi
Rene Mendoza was convicted of ordering the murder of the
house-keeper's daughter. Both received the maximum sentence-
-30 years in prison. The jury apparently made a distinction
between the ordering and the commission of the murders when
it found seven lower-ranking soldiers not guilty of murder.
Three lower-ranking officers each received 3-year prison
sentences. Colonel Bendavides' conviction was the first of a
high-ranking military officer for a human rights abuse.
The FMLN also has begun to cooperate with the judicial
process. On March 17, 1992, it surrendered two members of
its ERP guerrilla faction, "Porfirio" (Fernan Hernandez) and
"Aparicio" (Siberiano Fuentes), allegedly responsible for the
murder of two US airmen who survived a crash after their
helicopter was shot down on January 2, 1991, while on a non-
combat flight over El Salvador. The FMLN turned over
evidence in the case and maintained that the men turned
themselves in voluntarily. The case is being tried in El
Salvador.
While these two cases represent a strengthening of judicial
accountability in El Salvador, many other human rights abuses
are not investigated fully.
ECONOMY
The Salvadoran economy maintained positive growth in 1991 and
1992. Real gross domestic product grew by 3.5% in 1991 and
by 4% in 1992, the highest rates in 12 years. Inflation
increased to 20% in 1992. Disappointing agricultural
performance, however, dampened the overall recovery. The
contribution of coffee to the economy (30% of total
agricultural output) fell, because of decreased yields, and
low international prices which reduced the value of coffee
exports overall. Rich soil, moderate climate, and a hard-
working and enterprising labor pool comprise El Salvador's
greatest assets. With the peace accords, there is hope that
the economy will recover. Recently, El Salvador's
development efforts have focused on non-traditional
agricultural exports.
El Salvador historically has been the most industrialized
nation in Central America, though a decade of war has eroded
this position. In 1992, manufacturing accounted for 19% of
GDP and employed 16% of the work force. Based primarily in
the capital city of San Salvador, the industrial sector is
oriented largely toward domestic and Central American
markets. Textiles, footwear and clothing, beverages,
processed food, tobacco, wood and metal products, and
chemical products are the principal manufactured goods.
The war's impact was devastating. From 1979 to 1990, losses
due to guerrilla sabotage totaled about $2.2 billion. Since
attacks on economic targets declined significantly in 1991
and ended in 1992, the improved investor confidence should
lead to increased private investment.
Throughout the conflict, El Salvador's infrastructure
remained serviceable, with adequate transportation and
communications systems throughout the country.
The improvement in El Salvador's economy is due to free
market policy initiatives launched by the Cristiani
Government in July 1989. Reforms included elimination of
price controls on 240 consumer products; break-up of
government and government-sanctioned monopolies in the export
of coffee, sugar, and cotton; reduction of import duties;
elimination of non-tariff barriers; adoption of a free-market
exchange-rate system; maintenance of positive real interest
rates; and deficit reduction. The government also has
formulated a plan to privatize the banking system. In July
1992, after a long political struggle, the National Assembly
passed a law establishing a 10% value-added tax.
The Cristiani Government has launched a $81 billion national
reconstruction program. The government remains dependent on
foreign assistance to meet its public sector and balance-of-
payments deficits. The most important source of external aid
is official US assistance. In fiscal year (FY) 1991, the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) administered a
program of about $222 million. US aid in FY1992 amounted to
$217 million. The amount proposed for FY1993 is $224 million.
Since 1990, Cristiani's economic program has received strong
support from international financial institutions. The
International Monetary Fund approved a 12-month stand-by
agreement which paved the way for a rescheduling of $135
million of its Paris Club debt with official creditors. The
World Bank approved a $75 million structural-adjustment loan.
In May 1991, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
members approved El Salvador's membership. Bilateral and
multilateral donors are coordinating with the government for
a national reconstruction assistance package worth more than
$1 billion. Finally, in December 1992, the US Government
reduced El Salvador's debt by 75%, from $617 million to $151
million, under provisions of the Enterprise for the Americas
Initiative.
In March 1992, El Salvador and Guatemala also signed a free
trade agreement calling for common external tariff and export
tax systems. This was a major step in efforts to push for
genuine Central American economic integration. Similar
agreements are expected to be negotiated with Honduras.
Before 1980, a small economic elite owned most of the land in
El Salvador and controlled a highly successful agricultural
industry. About 70% of farmers were sharecroppers or
laborers on large plantations. Many farm workers were under-
or unemployed and impoverished.
The civilian-military junta which came to power in 1979
instituted an ambitious land reform program to redress the
inequities of the past, respond to the legitimate grievances
of the rural poor, and promote more broadly based growth in
the agricultural sector. The ultimate goal was to develop a
rural middle class with a stake in a peaceful and prosperous
future for El Salvador.
The 1980 land reform program was comprised of three phases.
Phase I expropriated all land holdings larger than 500
hectares and transformed them into cooperatives. The
Salvadoran agrarian reform institute was charged with
administering Phase I land. Phase II required owners to sell
land in excess of 245 hectares to agricultural workers and
their associations or to small farmers, but not to owners'
relatives, within 3 years. The groundwork for this phase was
laid in the December 1983 constitution. Implementing
legislation was delayed until 1987, and little land has been
expropriated under Phase II, but the vast majority of land-
lords voluntarily sold land in excess of 245 hectares. The
Phase III program allowed renters and sharecroppers to apply
for titles for up to 7.5 hectares of land they had tilled in
1980, either individually or as members of cooperatives.
More than 525,000 people (more than 12% of El Salvador's
total population and perhaps 25% of the rural poor) have
benefited from the agrarian reform, and more than 22% of El
Salvador's total farmland has been transferred to those who
previously worked the land but did not own it. By 1990,
however, about 150,000 landless families had still not
benefited from the agrarian reform actions.
The peace accords require land transfers to ex-combatants of
both the FMLN and ESAF, as well as to landless peasants
living in former conflict areas. While strongly opposed to
new land expropriations, the government is committed to
facilitating the voluntary transfer of land. Thousands of
these transactions have been financed through the US-assisted
land bank.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
El Salvador is a member of the United Nations and several of
its specialized agencies and the Organization of American
States (OAS). It is a member of the Central American Common
Market (CACM) and actively participates in the Central
American Security Commission (CASC), which seeks to promote
regional arms control. It is also a member of the Central
American Parliament (PARLACEN) and the Central American
Integration System (SICA). In 1991, El Salvador and its
Central American neighbors announced their interest in
negotiating a regional free-trade agreement.
El Salvador has played a constructive and activist role in
the Esquipulas process, a regional effort to promote peace in
Central America. The Government of El Salvador is firmly
committed to a comprehensive agreement linking guarantees of
security among the Central American countries to national
reconciliation through democratization within each country.
US-SALVADORAN RELATIONS
US-Salvadoran relations traditionally have been cordial and
close. US policy seeks to promote:
-- The complete implementation of the peace accords;
-- The strengthening of El Salvador's democratic
institutions, rule of law, and judicial reform;
-- National reconciliation and an end to the cycle of
political violence;
-- National reconstruction, economic opportunity, and
growth;
-- Support for the regional security objectives embodied in
the Esquipulas II agreement.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Charge d'Affaires--Peter F. Romero
The US embassy in El Salvador is located at Final Blvd.,
Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, San Salvador (tel. 503-78-
44-44, fax: 503-78-60-11).
Key Provisions of the Peace Accord
Military Reform
-- New armed forces doctrine stressing democratic values and
prohibiting an internal security role, except under
extraordinary circumstances.
-- Evaluation and selection out of the officer corps by a
commission composed of three civilians and two non-voting
military officers.
-- 50% reduction of military manpower by October 1993;
national guard, treasury police, and all elite counter-
insurgency battalions to be dissolved.
-- New civilian intelligence service under the president's
authority and legislative oversight.
-- Paramilitary groups banned, civil defense forces
dissolved, new military reserve system instituted, and
forced recruitment ended.
National Civilian Police
-- New civilian police force for both urban and rural areas.
-- Educational and other requirements for police personnel;
preference for recruits with no direct involvement in the war
to be trained at a new, independent police academy.
-- Existing national police transferred from defense
ministry to ministry of the presidency to carry out duties
under UN monitoring until a new civilian force is phased in.
Judicial Reform
-- Independent national judicial council to foster a fair
and independent judiciary.
-- School for judicial training to improve professionalism
of judges and other judicial officials.
-- Creation of a human rights ombudsman.
-- Charging the attorney general with conducting criminal
investigations.
Electoral Reform
-- Special commission to study draft reforms to electoral
code.
Social Issues
-- Government implementation of existing land reform
(transfer land exceeding the constitutional limit of 245
hectares) under supervision of a special commission.
-- Preference given to former combatants from both sides in
distribution of state-owned land.
-- Government to finance long-term, low-interest loans for
land purchases.
-- Moratorium on return of land illegally taken by the FMLN,
after which those holding land may purchase it or be
resettled.
TRAVEL NOTES:
Climate:
Semitropical. The country has distinct wet and
dry seasons. March and April are the hottest months, and the wet
season is from May to November. San Salvador's climate is
moderate.
Customs:
A passport and a visa are required for entry to El
Salvador. There are no airport visas or tourist cards
available for last-minute entry. For additional information,
travelers may contact the consular section of the embassy of
El Salvador at 1010 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, tel.
202-331-4032. Visas are free and can be issued for multiple
entries over a 10-year period of validity. American citizens
should register at the US embassy during a visit to obtain
current information on travel, security in former conflict
zones, crime, or health conditions.
HOW TO ORDER BACKGROUND NOTES IN PAPER
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau
of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication --
Washington, DC, February 1993 -- Editor: Peter A. Knecht
Department of State Publication 7794
Background Notes Series -- This material is in the public
domain and may be reprinted without permission; citation of
this source is appreciated.
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
Contents of this publication are not copyrighted unless
indicated. If not copyrighted, the material may be
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