Global InformationMilitary dictatorship in El Salvador information
Republic of El Salvador República de El Salvador | |||||||||
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| 1931–1979 | |||||||||
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish) English: "God, Unity, Freedom" | |||||||||
| Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador English: "National Anthem of El Salvador" | |||||||||
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| Capital | San Salvador | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Salvadoran | ||||||||
| Government | Unitary presidential republic under a military dictatorship | ||||||||
| President | |||||||||
• 1931–1934, 1935–1944 | Maximiliano Hernández Martínez | ||||||||
• 1934–1935, 1944 | Andrés Ignacio Menéndez | ||||||||
• 1944–1945 | Osmín Aguirre y Salinas | ||||||||
• 1945–1948 | Salvador Castaneda Castro | ||||||||
• 1950–1956 | Óscar Osorio | ||||||||
• 1956–1960 | José María Lemus | ||||||||
• 1962 | Eusebio Cordón Cea | ||||||||
• 1962–1967 | Julio Aldaberto Rivera | ||||||||
• 1967–1972 | Fidel Sánchez Hernández | ||||||||
• 1972–1977 | Arturo Armando Molina | ||||||||
• 1977–1979 | Carlos Humberto Romero | ||||||||
| Legislature | Constitutional Assembly | ||||||||
| Historical era | World War II, Cold War | ||||||||
• 1931 coup d'état | 2 December 1931 | ||||||||
• La Matanza | 22–25 January 1932 | ||||||||
• Strike of Fallen Arms | 7–11 May 1944 | ||||||||
• Football War | 14–18 July 1969 | ||||||||
• 1979 coup d'état | 15 October 1979 | ||||||||
• Salvadoran Civil War | 1979–1992 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1950 | 2,200,000 | ||||||||
• 1970 | 3,736,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Salvadoran colón | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | SV | ||||||||
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| Today part of | El Salvador | ||||||||
| History of El Salvador |
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 El Salvador portal |
The Salvadoran military dictatorship was the period of time in Salvadoran history where the Salvadoran Armed Forces governed the country for almost 48 years from 2 December 1931 until 15 October 1979. The authoritarian military dictatorship limited political rights throughout the country and maintained its governance through rigged and fixed elections.
The military came to power in El Salvador when the first democratically elected president, Arturo Araujo, was overthrown in a military coup d'état on 2 December 1931. The military appointed Araujo's vice president, Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, as acting president on 4 December 1931. He remained in office until he was forced to resign on 9 May 1944 following strikes and protests by students[a] in the capital of San Salvador. He was followed by three short-lived presidents, who were then succeeded by Óscar Osorio in 1950. His successor, José María Lemus, was overthrown in a military coup d'état in 1960 and was replaced by Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo in 1962. From 1962 to 1979, the National Conciliation Party (PCN) ruled the country in a de facto one party state; opposition parties existed, but in practice held no real power. The military regime ended on 15 October 1979, when young military officers overthrew President Carlos Humberto Romero and established the Revolutionary Government Junta, a joint civilian-military government which ruled the country from 1979 until the presidential elections of 1982. The fall of the military government marked the beginning of the twelve-year-long Salvadoran Civil War which lasted until 1992.[1]
Many atrocities and human rights violations were committed under the Salvadoran military government. Under Martínez, the Salvadoran Army massacred anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 peasants and indigenous people in response to a communist uprising in 1932, in an event known in El Salvador as La Matanza.[b][2] The National Democratic Organization was established by Rivera in 1965. It was a collection of far-right paramilitaries and death squads that tortured political opponents, intimidated voters, rigged elections, and killed peasants.[3][4] President Fidel Sánchez Hernández initiated the Football War with Honduras in July 1969, claiming that the Honduran government had allowed violence targeting Salvadorans to go unchecked following El Salvador's victory over Honduras in the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[5] In March 1979, President Romero ordered soldiers to fire on a crowd of protestors using live ammunition.[6] The military regime received support from the United States due to its anti-communist stance, which aligned with the United States' Cold War interests.[7]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Wood, Elizabeth (2003). Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 22.
- ^ Anderson, Thomas P. (1971). Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 88–91. ISBN 9780803207943.
- ^ Popkin, Margaret (2000). "Peace without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador". 44 (1). Pennsylvania State University Press: 26–48.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Stanley, William (1996). The Protection Racket State Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador. Temple University Press. pp. 107–132. ISBN 9781566393911. JSTOR j.ctt14bswcg.
- ^ Veytskin, Yuriy, Lockerby, Claire, & McMullen, Steven (2009–2013). Schorr, Matthew, Barrett, Lindsey, & Leachman, Colby (ed.). "The Soccer War". Soccer Politics. Duke University. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Presidentes de El Salvador - Primera Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno" [Presidents of El Salvador - First Revolutionary Government Junta]. Presidente Elías Antonio Saca El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ Beverley, John (1982). "El Salvador". Social Text (5). Duke University Press: 55–72. doi:10.2307/466334. JSTOR 466334.