Essay on U.S. Foreign Policy Regarding El Salvador

Americas Watch. 1991. El Salvador’s Decade of Terror: Human Rights since the Assassination of Archbishop Romero. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

The number one reason the U.S. involved themselves with El Salvador was because the Communist political party started becoming a magnificent threat to the nation. Communism is the belief directed from Karl Marx, where everyone is essentially treated equal. In El Salvador during the 1980s, the Communist group, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (a.k.a. FMLN), and three other political parties were pushing for more power. Since these groups were

The United Provinces of Central America). There is a scroll which states the national motto of El Salvador. Which is “ Dios, Unión, Libertad”. Which means, “ God, Union, Liberty”. All of that is surrounded by Laurel Garland, which is tied together under the National flag. Laurel Garland is divide into 14 different parts, which symbolizes the 14 Departments. I am going to list the 14 departments and some facts about them. The Ahuachapàn department , it is in the west of the country. The capital is Ahuachapàn. The Cabañas department, the capital is Sensuntepeque. It is one of the coldest regions in El Salvador. The Chalatenango department, it is located in the northwest of the country. It has 220,000 and more inhabitants in it. The Cuscatlán department, it is located in the center of the country. It has 200,00 and more inhabitants in it. The La Libertad department, the capital is Santa Tecla. It was classified as a department on January 28, 1865. The La Paz department, the capital is

One of the longest war began in the 1980’s, the Civil war in El Salvador, it was one of the bloodiest wars ever as well. “This war caused the death of 75,000 people, Innocent mothers and their children would be killed.”(Web) The problem began when El salvador brought in most of it’s profit with coffee.

Another obstacle is the food. I miss my mom’s cook, she always cooked me my favorite food; eggs, beans, chicken, whatever she cooked I love her too much. Here I found many differences between the food of the United States and the El Salvador’s, I think it is by the culture of American people who are used to eat that kind of food. The first time to eat here I just ate one thing during a whole week: Pizza. Maybe I was afraid of the food because I knew it tasted different and some other factors such as I was really hungry. I tried to overcome this obstacle imagining that the food is made by my mom and I guess I will taste very delicious the food. The results were a little better but it is still an obstacle because I don’t feel too much delicious

As a result poverty grew and the conflict between the poor and the rich became a big problem El Salvador had to deal with during the 20th century. A Central American Socialist Party was born and lead people against the government and in response the government of El Salvador at the time supported military death teams who killed anyone who supported that party.

I am now convinced that all five countries in Central America have, or will, face political and social issues, which will cause many revolutions. And with the continuing support of the United States, these countries will struggle to emerge as a fully independent state, until they decide to no longer accept aid from external forces. But then again, that is almost impossible. Somehow, the great power will always be in a position of authority over developing

For twelve years (1980-1992), El Salvador suffered this brutal civil war and saw some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin American history. The government refused to attend peace talks by the FMLN and the FMLN refused to participate in elections knowing it results would be rigged. The military tried to kill all suspected rebels and the FMLN damaged anything that supported the government’s economy. Throughout the war there was so much human rights violations such as subjecting civilians to torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, mutilation, mass rape, massacres, summary executions, landmines and indiscriminate bombing. As the result, by the end of the civil war about 75,000 people were killed, sadly most of which were civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intensity of military repression and constant fear provoked massive northern migration to the United States. By the mid-1980s almost one-fifth of the Salvadoran population was living in the United

U.S. history is a key structural determinant of why Latinos have faced hardship, but now making up over 33% of the nation’s population have found their voice. In the documentary, Harvest of Empire Journalist and author of the book Juan Gonzalez, “Harvest of Empire” discusses the controversial issue in America of Latino immigration. He examines U.S. intervention in each of the Latin countries which in turn caused them to migrate to North America. “People in the U.S. have no idea why we come to this country. No idea. And if they do, it’s probably the wrong one” says Mariana Cabrera a Guatemalan immigrant (Harvest, 18:51). Her country of Guatemala had many changes going on in terms of government structure. In 1951 Jacobo Arbenz was appointed as President of Guatemala and wanted to help alleviate poverty in the country by land reform. According the documentary 2% of the owners had control of the land and 75% were in the hands of the United Fruit Company. The United Fruit Company was controlled by America and used the Guatemalan land to create an American powerhouse. With Arbenz in rule, Guatemalan government values did not match those of

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

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).

Throughout 1939-1971, El Salvador was run by a military-style dictatorship, causing those who had land and wealth to be stripped from them just because they could. According to Encyclopedia Britannica the persistence of this dictatorship can be partly credited to Augustin Farabundo Marti, who forced the Salvadorian Communist Party (2017). Proving to be a catalyst for conflicts for years to come.

During the Cold War, the US invaded Latin America, Asia, and partly Europe. They used sneaky methods and propaganda to achieve their goals. At this time, in the Cold War, they were very devious and tactical in their mission. The US foreign Policy at that time was all about defeating Communism and keeping the balance of power in it’s favor but most importantly, for US’s own economic interest.

With the increase in industrialization, particularly rail roads and steam boats, Latin America could efficiently export more goods. The installation of railroads and increased trade stabilized the economy of many countries. As long as Europe and the United States required raw materials, the economy would continue to grow. With the economy growing, political stability followed. This is demonstrated in Chasteen’s essay “Governance did become more orderly. As the profits of the export boom rose, government revenues from import/export taxes rose too…Higher government revenues afforded middle-class people new employment opportunities…Greater stability and prosperity attracted further investment from aboard intensifying trade, and the cycle repeated itself” (Chasteen, 207). As more money flowed into the continent, the more the government improved. Using the available revenue from the export boom, local governments could afford better equipment and put down rebellions with less casualties. The government was better able to provide more individuals with employment opportunities, thus stabilizing the politics in the Spanish Americas.

Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1997