El Salvador

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. Home to many ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, El Salvador fell under Spanish control in 1525. In 1821 El Salvador achieved independence and gained status as a sovereign state. Between the late 19th and end of the 20th century El Salvador was a nation ravaged by political and economic instability. The peak of this instability occurred during the devastating 1979-1992 Civil War between the military and leftist guerillas. Since the Civil War El Salvador has been struck by multiple natural disasters that ravaged the economy. In the past 15 years transnational gangs have moved in using El Salvador as a transit point for cocaine smuggling. The gangs have created instability in Salvadorian society with violence and crime. 

Social

Overview: As of 2014 El Salvador held the 4th highest homicide rate in the world. This violence has largely been attributed to gangs who utilize El Salvador as a major transit point for the cocaine trade. Since 2012 the homicide rate has declined due to an agreement between the government and various gangs. Extortion and common crime are still extremely prevalent and the government often lacks the resources to investigate.

​Demographics:
  • Population – 6,125,512
  • 0-14 – 28.1%
  • 15-24 – 20.8%
  • 25-54 – 37.5%
  • 55-64 – 6.6%
  • 65 & Over – 6.7%
  • Mestizo – 86.3%
  • White – 12.7%
  • Amerindian – 1%
  • Roman Catholic – 57.1%
  • Protestant – 21.2%
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses – 1.9%
  • Mormon - .07%
  • Other – 2.3%
  • No Religion – 2.3%
  • (Numbers from CIA World Fact Book)

Trends: El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. The population is aging with a steady decrease in the number of youths. El Salvador has seen a mass emigration of its population beginning with the civil war from 1979 to 1992. This has continued with natural disasters and gang violence in the past twenty years. Nearly 20% of Honduras’s native population immigrated to various other countries including Mexico, the United States, and Nicaragua. 

Economy

Economic System: El Salvador has a free market capitalist economy. Traditionally, El Salvador’s economy has been based off the exportation of agricultural products. During Spanish occupation that lasted until 1821 Salvadorians principally exported indigo. The economy has shifted to the exportation of coffee since the invention of synthetic dyes. Recently, El Salvador has moved to diversify its economy by heavily investing in the industrial sector. Still, about 30% of the population lives beneath the poverty line and the nation suffers from a high degree of inequality in the distribution of income. El Salvador has one of the lowest tax rates in the Americas at 11% and uses the dollar as official currency.

Economic Trends: The global recession contracted real GDP and economic growth and it has remained low since 2009. The economic growth rate has averaged around 2% annually from 2010 – 2013. The government of El Salvador has struggled to successfully diversify the economy into the industrial sector with tough international competition. The large wave of emigration out of El Salvador has meant that substantial amounts of funds have been sent back to El Salvador from abroad.

Economic Resources: Coffee, sugar, corn, beans. Food processing, beverages, petroleum, chemicals. 

Political

Political System: El Salvador is a democratic republic with a unicameral legislature. The President is elected to a five-year term without the possibility of reelection. El Salvador’s President operates as both chief of state and head of government. The legislative branch, Assamblea Legislativa, consists of 84 members elected every three years by popular vote. 15 judges selected to nine-year terms by the Assamblea Legislativa make up the Supreme Court. The nation is split into fourteen administrative divisions run by the government. 

Political Groups: El Salvador has two main political parties, the conservative right Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA) and the liberal left Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional (FMLN). A number of third parties also compete in national elections, albeit receiving much less support. These parties include Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional (GRAN), Partido de Conciliacion Nacional (PCN), and Partido Democrata Cristiano (PDC).

​Political Conflicts: From 1979-1992 a bloody civil war between the military-led government and the left-wing FMLN engulfed El Salvador. After the 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords, FLMN shifted from a guerilla force to a political party. This shift did not create internal conflict, but rather United States/El Salvador problems. During the 2004 El Salvadorian elections the United States expressed concerns over a FLMN electoral victory. Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega met with all the elections candidates except for the FLMN candidates. This prompted a rebuke by 29 members of the House of Representatives. Still, it has been largely a peaceful return to democracy after the civil war.

​Allies & Adversaries: In 1969 El Salvador fought a 100-hour war with Honduras over a contested border. Although tensions between citizens of the different countries sometimes rise, a 1996 agreement has stabilized the border. The United States has expressed concerns over the leftist FMLN political party. 

Military & Intelligence

Overview: The armed forces of El Salvador, Fuerza Armada de El Salvador (FAES), have been drastically reformed since the 1992 peace accords that ended the civil war. The constitution limits the armed forces from playing a role in internal security except for extraordinary conditions. The troop numbers have also been drastically reduced from a wartime high of 62,000. After the war there was also a purge of officers suspected of committing human rights abuses and a restructuring of intelligence organizations from military entities to civilian departments.

Branches: Army, navy (formed in 1952), and air force.

​Reach: Salvadorian soldiers were part of the coalition in Iraq from 2003 to 2009. El Salvador deployed 380 soldiers, of which most were paratroopers. Salvadorian soldiers fought well and were highly regarded by the United States.

Terrorist & Criminal Organizations:
    MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha)
    M18 (Eighteenth Street) 

Information

​Freedom of the press: The constitution of El Salvador protects freedom of the press. Salvadorian journalists generally have few problems reporting. Reporting on the government and opposition groups is allowed. In 2011 slander, libel, and defamation were decriminalized. Incidents of violence and intimidation have seldom occurred during the past five years in El Salvador.

​Media institutions: There are four daily newspapers but most of the nation relies on private television networks and radio stations for news. Limited resources and the interests of the network owners prevent the media outlets from having a far and neutral reach. Community based programming also plays a major role in the dissemination of information to the public. 

Infastructure

​Roads: El Salvador has a decent network of roads, most of which are in good to very good condition. Extreme caution must be exercised when driving to avoid aggressive drivers and obstructions in the forms of animals.
Railways: Railroads have been inoperable since 2005 because of lack of maintenance.
Maritime (Rivers, Lakes): Rio Lempa is partially navigable by small craft.  
Power: Ranked 115th in the world in energy production.
Internet: Ranked 107th world in internet hosts. Not widely used or reliable.
Phone: Multiple cellular carriers are very popular in the country and rapidly growing. 

Analysis: Country Trajectory
Since the conclusion of the civil war in 1992 El Salvador has made encouraging progress through political reform. The military no longer holds power and the electoral system has opened. Still, the country faces an uphill battle to diversify and improve its economy while curbing the impunity of transnational gangs. Its difficult to see either issue being solved soon, and until then the insecure situation in El Salvador will continue to spur large waves of emigration.