DIRTY WAR IN EL SALVADOR

2/15/2010

Dirty War: Characteristics

State-sponsored violence against large segments of the general population

Violent repression of non-violent groups deemed hostile to the regime in power Groups often branded as “terrorists” or

“subversives” State Terror:

Ideological logic Efforts to foster uncertainty Efforts to fragment society

Impunity

Dirty War: Methods

Asymmetric violence Extra-judicial detention Disappearances Torture and murder Massacres Use of paramilitary forces Lack of accountability Plausible deniability

The National Context: 1823 - 1980 1823: Independence; the country is ruled by a series

of liberal elites 1850s: the global market price of indigo collapses

1856 law requires communes to plant 2/3 of their land in coffee

1880 communal landholding is outlawed Vagrancy laws

1930: limited democratic reforms 1931: coup; military dictatorships 1932: la Matanza 1961: ORDEN forms 1970: leftist guerilla groups begin to form 1972: Duarte wins the presidential election 1980: leftist groups unite to form the FMLN

Augustín Farabundo Martí

The International Context: the U.S. and the Cold War Cuba: 1959 revolution Guatemala: ongoing

conflict between the government and a series of leftist opposition groups (Arbenz 1954)

Nicaragua: July 1979 overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship by the Sandinista National Liberation Front

1977–1981: Pres. Carter 1981–1989: Pres. Reagan 1989–1993: Pres. Bush,

Sr.

The Dirty War: 1980 – 1992The Government Forces The Military

Rapid response battalion ATLACATL

Intelligence Forces Security Forces Civil defense forces Paramilitary death squads

ORDEN

Strategies 1980-1984: “Draining the

Sea” 1985 and later: targeting

FMLN fighters

Methods Searches of persons and

property Arbitrary arrest and

detention Systematic use of

kidnapping and torture Mutilation and

dismemberment of corpses which are then left in visible, public places

Judicial stonewalling, corruption, and the use of confessions obtained through torture

Impunity for violators and harassment of humanitarian, human rights, and relief organizations

The Dirty War: 1980 – 1992The Opposition ForcesUrban movements, based on unions and student

groupsLiberation Theology 24 March 1980: Assassination of Archbishop Oscar

RomeroFrente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional Numbered around 4,000 fighters Mobility, familiarity with the mountain terrain Quick, small operations Survived on peasant support Radio Venceremos Broadcast from military-

controlled territory

El Mazote, December 1981

Ending the Dirty War

The failure of the FMLN The “hearts and minds” strategy

The decline of U.S. support End of the Cold War 16 Nov 1989 Jesuit killings

The 1991 Peace Agreement Reconciliation, Amnesty, Reintegration 1992 the peace agreement takes effect, UN

verifies weapons decommissioning 1993 Peace and Reconciliation

Commission 1994 Presidential elections

Ending the Dirty War

The Civil War lasted for 12 years: 1980-1992 Roughly 70,000 people died

State-related forces were responsible for 80% of all deaths

four-fifths or more of these deaths were peasants and workers

1979 population 4.5 million 500,000 – 750,000 people fled the country 500,000 – 1,000,000 IDPs

10% reduction in per capita economic production

El Salvador Today

Social Indicators Median age: 22 years Education: average of 5.5 years of schooling Religion: 55% Catholic

Underemployment: 40-50% Homicide rate: 55.3 per 100,000

Higher than during the war Gangs

Eighteenth Street Mara Salvatrucha