Andrew Clem ~ El Salvador

History

Long, bloody civil war; some reconciliation. Radical market liberalization has paid off fairly well, though at the cost of some protests.

Politics

The former guerrilla movement FMLN has adapted quite well to peaceful democratic politics. Pres. five year terms; Leg Ass three-year terms; next elections to be held in March 2009.

Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)	National Conciliation Party (PCN)	Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Dem. Conv.	National Republican Alliance (ARENA)
Medardo Gonzalez	Ciro Cruz Zepeda	Rodolfo Parker; Ruben Zamora	Tony Saca
32	10	6 + 2	34

NOTE: Width of each column shows each party's approximate strength. Colors and position (left to right) represent ideological leanings, which are often vague. Numbers show how many seats each party has in the unicameral Legislative Assembly. Minor parties are not shown.

SOURCE: CIA World Factbook

Chronology

Date	Event
Jan. 2001	7.6 Richter scale earthquake kills 800+ in El Salvador and Guatemala; thousands are homeless.
Feb. 2001	Another earthquake (6.6 Richter scale) kills dozens.
July 2002	Two retired Salvadoran generals living in South Florida were convicted in a U.S. court of ordering torture during the civil war 20 years ago.
Sept. 2002	El Salvador announced it would appeal the 1992 World Court ruling regarding the border with Honduras. It seeks 70.6 square kilometers of land in the Goascoran River valley, as well as the island of Conejo, in the river delta.
Oct. 2002	Scandal: Many top lawyers and judges bought phony law degrees and are going to lose their professional titles.
Nov. 2002	The National Assembly passed a bill privatizing medical services pushed by President Francisco Flores, but then repealed it the very next month, because of public protests. Doctors went on strike to try to stop it.
Jan. 2003	The government rejected international mediation to resolve the strike by doctors, who are now insisting that their salaries withheld during the strike be paid.
Feb. 2003	Thousands of people marched to protest the government's plan to privatize the medical system, led by the FMLN, which used to be a guerrilla army.
Mar. 2003	The FMLN party gained several legislative seats in elections, taking advantage of protests against medical privatization. Turnout was quite low. Carlos Rivas Zamora won the mayoral race in San Salvador.

Date

Event

Jan. 2001

7.6 Richter scale earthquake kills 800+ in El Salvador and Guatemala; thousands are homeless.

Feb. 2001

Another earthquake (6.6 Richter scale) kills dozens.

July 2002

Two retired Salvadoran generals living in South Florida were convicted in a U.S. court of ordering torture during the civil war 20 years ago.

Sept. 2002

El Salvador announced it would appeal the 1992 World Court ruling regarding the border with Honduras. It seeks 70.6 square kilometers of land in the Goascoran River valley, as well as the island of Conejo, in the river delta.

Oct. 2002

Scandal: Many top lawyers and judges bought phony law degrees and are going to lose their professional titles.

Nov. 2002

The National Assembly passed a bill privatizing medical services pushed by President Francisco Flores, but then repealed it the very next month, because of public protests. Doctors went on strike to try to stop it.

Jan. 2003

The government rejected international mediation to resolve the strike by doctors, who are now insisting that their salaries withheld during the strike be paid.

Feb. 2003

Thousands of people marched to protest the government's plan to privatize the medical system, led by the FMLN, which used to be a guerrilla army.

Mar. 2003

The FMLN party gained several legislative seats in elections, taking advantage of protests against medical privatization. Turnout was quite low. Carlos Rivas Zamora won the mayoral race in San Salvador.

El Salvador

Geography

History

Culture

Politics

Chronology