Dollarization In El Salvador

There is perhaps no other political issue in our contemporary society that is more pertinent, pervasive, and encompassing than a nation’s economy. From the first coins used in Greece and the Asia Minor in the 7th century BCE, to the earliest uses of paper money, history has proven time and time again that the control of a region’s economy is absolutely crucial to maintaining social stability and prosperity. Yet, for over a century scholars have continued to speculate why the United States, one of the world’s strongest and most influential countries, has one of the most unstable economies. Although the causes of this economic instability can be attributed to multiple factors, nearly all economists agree that they have a common

El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America; most of the country is on a fertile volcanic plateau about 2,000 ft high. The people of El Salvador use the land for raising crops, building cities, and are very skillful weavers. El Salvador remained a Spanish colony for around 300 years. It was taken over by Europeans in the 1500’s. Before the Spanish conquest, which was an invasion from the Spaniards to the native people; one of the earliest groups of settlers was a group of indigenous people called the Pipil people. (World Book E6 252).

My dad was born in the small Central American nation of El Salvador, more specifically in Anamoros located on the east side of the country. He lived in the countryside so he often played with their animals, spent most of his childhood swimming in the rivers or playing soccer with his friends, and would frequently hang out with his grandparents in the afternoons. In 1980, when he was about 12 years old that all began to change, he and all those around him needed to be more cautious about their surroundings.

El Salvador’s earliest settlers were the Pipil Indians, who resembled the Aztecs, and dominated the landscape. San Salvador the capital the was established by Spanish explorers and would remain the capital of the country. The Civil War that EL Salvador went through was assisted in part by the US through training and supplies. The history of El Salvador and the years of unrest led to the US help the country to establish it political structure.

Throughout the 20th century, the United States has slowly constructed a global system of control. Its superior military, weaponry and intelligence apparatus have been crucial in this system, but an equally important factor has been its control of the global economy, and its primary weapon, the U.S. Dollar. The dollar’s world reserve status alone does not make it unique, but its deeply rooted role in American and global geo-politics certainly does. As Vassili Fouskas and Bülent Gökay point out in their book The New American Imperialism, “Dollar hegemony has always been strategic to the future of American global dominance, in many respects more important than America’s overwhelming military power. While military power is more visible and useful as a display, it is the dollar’s role as reserve currency that secures the domination of the U.S. in the global economic market place”. [1] This system is built on serious fault lines and its future is the most important issue for international relations today.

Start of the twentieth century it seemed like El Salvador finally establishes a viable government and began building an economy (Background, 2012). Then, the economic crisis of the 1930s occurs and the international markets plummeted and so did El Salvador. Externally, El Salvador was not a huge contender in global markets, but internally the social, political and economic environment in El Salvador was becoming tense and in 1932 the peasant workers in the rural countryside raised up against the land elites (Benavides, 2008). The

The El Salvadoran government adopted its first comprehensive legislation to combat MS-13 and other street gangs in 2003. The measures provided were colloquially referred to as Mano Dura or Firm Hand. The government felt that that they had waited long enough to take action against the increasing threat of gang activity and would now meet the challenge head on with brutal tactics.

The area that is currently El Salvador was originally comprised of 3 vast indigenous states and various territories. The Pipils, indigenous occupants who settled in present day Mexico, are a nomadic people that originated from Nahua. The Lencas settled and represented the eastern district while the Mayan the Chortis occupied the North zone of the Lempa Hi River.

The area that is currently El Salvador was originally comprised of 3 vast indigenous states and various territories. The Pipils, indigenous occupants who settled in present day Mexico, are a nomadic people that originated from Nahua. The Lencas settled and represented the eastern district while the Mayan the Chortis occupied the North zone of the Lempa Hi River.

When we think of culture, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Many of us begin to envision how certain people or countries carry themselves in their daily routines. Whether it is in the way they cook, dress, celebrate certain holidays, or just other beliefs in general. Picture a country that at one-point war was so bad and constant that is was normal for women to cook for soldiers who are passing by their homes. It isn’t frowned upon to have a corrupted government because that is something they have had to deal with since their independence, and children as young as the age of seven are militants walking around with weapons in their hands, becoming social terrors. At least during the 1980’s

The history of El Salvador begins with the time period in which indigenous peoples resided in the country. According to Roy Poland, in Culture and Customs of El Salvador, El Salvador was conquered by the Spanish in 1524; the spanish found the country was divided into three states (13). The spaniards hegemonic influence finally converted El Salvador into a Spanish colony after twenty six years of indigenous resistance(Poland 14). Such conquest brought violence, diseases, and poverty to the indigenous people. The invasion of El Salvador by the Spanish also resulted in mestizaje, racial mixing. The colonial period lasted until 1821(Poland 14). El Salvador finally became independent from Spain in 1821 and joined the United Provinces of Central America in 1823; however, in 1840 El Salvador gained full independence (Eileen Garron Batres 6), One of the most important crops in El Salvador during the 1800’s and 1900’s was coffee; during the 1900’s El Salvador was the third largest coffee producer internationally (Susan B. Hecht).

El Salvador is located in Central America. The country has over 6 million people and is known as the smallest and over populated country. The people in El Salvador are of Indigenous American descent and European mixed with America Indian also known as Mestizos of European. El Salvador has had many revolutions to civil wars within a few centuries up into the twenty first century . El Salvador uniting with the Federal Republic of Central America in 1821, developing a communist party near 1932 and the most recent of the tragic El Mozote massacre in the 1980's is a few of the history events that took place.

El Salvador is like the same size of New Jersey that is in, the United States of America. El Salvador is between two countries Guatemala and Honduras. Now to a basic summary, El Salvador is a tiny country in Central America and it is known for its many attractions. These attractions are what El Salvador is known for and they are, the Pacific Ocean beaches for surfing and seeing a mountainous landscape with is pretty. The other attractions that are in towns like Ruta de Las Flores, Juayúa, and San Salvador. Also that San Salvador is the capital of El Salvador. El Salvador has achieved their independence from Spain in 1821 and from the Central American Federation in 1839. The 12-year civil war, in which about 75,000 lives were lost, that was brought to a close in 1992, when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.

El Salvador is in Central America, bordering the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It is the smallest country in continental America and is often called “Pulgarcito de America,” the Tom Thumb of the Americas. The Latin American culture interest me. Enriched with tradition, lyrical language, vibrant colors and beautiful beaches. What is the difference between El Salvadoran culture and American Culture?

On December 1994 the dollar value went from 3.46 to 6.94 in March 1995. The drastic change in the Peso currency took Mexico’s economy to another level. The peso had been devaluated for more than 90%. Prices in Mexico went really high in a really short period of time; and as a matter of fact, that took their economy to destruction. Both presidents, Salinas and Zedillo, as economists, they must have had an idea on how decreasing the value of the peso against the U.S. dollar would affect their economy. On the other hand, after the government realized what they got themselves into, both presidents, Zedillo and Salinas, started blaming each other this crisis.