El Salvador
Country in Central America, bounded N and E by Honduras, S and SW by
the Pacific Ocean, and NW by Guatemala.
Government
The 1983 constitution, amended 1985, provides for a president elected
by universal suffrage for a five-year term, assisted by an appointed
vice president and a council of ministers. There is a single-chamber
national assembly of 84, elected by universal suffrage for a three-year
term.
History
The original inhabitants of the area were Indians, who arrived from
Mexico around 3000 BC. From the period of the Maya Indians AD 100 to
1000 remain huge limestone pyramids built by them in western El Salvador.
The Pipil Indians were in control of the area at the time of the Spanish
conquest 1525. El Salvador and other Central American Spanish colonies
broke away from Spanish rule 1821, and became part of the United Provinces
of Central America until 1840.
The history of El Salvador has been marked by a succession of military
revolts, with periods of tyrannical rule, violence, and political
assassinations. In 1932, the indigenous Salvadorean population
was virtually wiped out in a military crackdown resulting in 30,000
deaths following peasant unrest. A more orderly form of political
succession was established after 1871. Yet governments tended
to be dominated by the same economic interests, families, and
clans. In general, the army and the planter alike controlled affairs.
|
