PRESIDENT: Mauricio Funes (June 2009 - 2014)
POPULATION: 6.5 million
KEY EXPORTS: Workers
PRESIDENT: Mauricio Funes (June 2009 - 2014)
POPULATION: 6.5 million
KEY EXPORTS: Workers
Home page >> Latin America Intro page >> El Salvador ("under reconstruction")Updated:
El Salvador blog archives
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Jan. 2001 | 7.6 Richter scale earthquake kills 800+ in El Salvador and Guatemala; thousands are homeless. |
| Feb. 2001 | Another earthquake (6.6 Richter scale) kills dozens. |
| July 2002 | Two retired Salvadoran generals living in South Florida were convicted in a U.S. court of ordering torture during the civil war 20 years ago. |
| Sept. 2002 | El Salvador announced it would appeal the 1992 World Court ruling regarding the border with Honduras. It seeks 70.6 square kilometers of land in the Goascoran River valley, as well as the island of Conejo, in the river delta. |
| Oct. 2002 | Scandal: Many top lawyers and judges bought phony law degrees and are going to lose their professional titles. |
| Nov. 2002 | The National Assembly passed a bill privatizing medical services pushed by President Francisco Flores, but then repealed it the very next month, because of public protests. Doctors went on strike to try to stop it. |
| Jan. 2003 | The government rejected international mediation to resolve the strike by doctors, who are now insisting that their salaries withheld during the strike be paid. |
| Feb. 2003 | Thousands of people marched to protest the government's plan to privatize the medical system, led by the FMLN, which used to be a guerrilla army. |
| Mar. 2003 | The FMLN party gained several legislative seats in elections, taking advantage of protests against medical privatization. Turnout was quite low. Carlos Rivas Zamora won the mayoral race in San Salvador. |
| Oct. 2005 | A volcano erupted near the city of Santa Ana in northwestern El Salvador, and floods spawned by Hurricane Stan compounded the misery. |
| Jan. 2007 | At least 21 prisoners died during an uprising in Apanteos jail, near the city of Santa Ana in northwestern El Salvador. |
| Feb. 2007 | Three politicians from El Salvador who were serving as deputies to the Central American Parliament in Guatemala City were assassinated. |
| Mar. | Mauricio Funes of the former Marxist rebel party (FMLN) won the presidential election by a margin of 51%-49%. |
As the smallest country in Central America,
Long, bloody civil war; some reconciliation. Radical market liberalization has paid off fairly well, though at the cost of some protests.
The former guerrilla movement Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) has adapted quite well to peaceful democratic politics. Pres. five year terms; Leg Ass three-year terms; next elections to be held in March 2009.
| Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) | National Conciliation Party (PCN) | Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Dem. Conv. | National Republican Alliance (ARENA) |
| Medardo Gonzalez | Ciro Cruz Zepeda | Rodolfo Parker; Ruben Zamora | Tony Saca |
| 35 | 11 | 5 + 1 | 32 |
NOTE: Width of each column shows each party's approximate strength. Colors and position (left to right) represent ideological leanings, which are often vague. Numbers show how many seats each party has in the unicameral Legislative Assembly. Minor parties are not shown.
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook
