Military dictatorship in El Salvador

Republic of El Salvador
República de El Salvador
1931–1979
Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish)
English: "God, Unity, Freedom"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador
English: "National Anthem of El Salvador"
Location of El Salvador
CapitalSan Salvador
Common languagesSpanish
Demonym(s)Salvadoran
GovernmentUnitary presidential republic under a military dictatorship
President 
• 1931–1934,
1935–1944
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
• 1934–1935,
1944
Andrés Ignacio Menéndez
• 1944–1945
Osmín Aguirre y Salinas
• 1945–1948
Salvador Castaneda Castro
• 1950–1956
Óscar Osorio
• 1956–1960
José María Lemus
• 1962
Eusebio Cordón Cea
• 1962–1967
Julio Aldaberto Rivera
• 1967–1972
Fidel Sánchez Hernández
• 1972–1977
Arturo Armando Molina
• 1977–1979
Carlos Humberto Romero
Vice President 
• 1931
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
• 1945–1948
Manuel Adriano Vilanova
• 1950–1956
José María Peralta Salazar
• 1956–1960
Humberto Costa
• 1962
Francisco José Guerrero and Salvador Ramírez Siliézar
• 1962–1967
Francisco Roberto Lima
• 1967–1972
Humberto Guillermo Cuestas
• 1972–1977
Enrique Mayorga Rivas
• 1977–1979
Julio Ernesto Astacio
LegislatureConstitutional Assembly
Historical eraWorld War II, Cold War
2 December 1931
22–25 January 1932
7–11 May 1944
14–18 July 1969
15 October 1979
1979–1992
Population
• 1950
2,200,000
• 1970
3,736,000
CurrencySalvadoran colón
ISO 3166 codeSV
Preceded by
Succeeded by
El Salvador
El Salvador
Today part ofEl Salvador

The Salvadoran military dictatorship was the period of time in Salvadoran history where the Salvadoran Armed Forces governed the country for almost 48 years from 2 December 1931 until 15 October 1979. The authoritarian military dictatorship limited political rights throughout the country and maintained its governance through rigged elections.

The military came to power in El Salvador when the first democratically elected president, Arturo Araujo, was overthrown in a military coup d'état on 2 December 1931. The military appointed Araujo's vice president, Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, as acting president on 4 December 1931. He remained in office until he was forced to resign on 9 May 1944 following strikes and protests by students[a] in the capital of San Salvador. He was followed by three short-lived presidents, who were then succeeded by Óscar Osorio in 1950. His successor, José María Lemus, was overthrown in a military coup d'état in 1960 and was replaced by Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo in 1962. From 1962 to 1979, the National Conciliation Party (PCN) ruled the country in a de facto one party state; opposition parties existed, but in practice held no real power. The military regime ended on 15 October 1979, when young military officers overthrew President Carlos Humberto Romero and established the Revolutionary Government Junta, a joint civilian-military government which ruled the country from 1979 until the presidential elections of 1982. The fall of the military government marked the beginning of the twelve-year-long Salvadoran Civil War which lasted until 1992.[1]

Many atrocities and human rights violations were committed under the Salvadoran military government. Under Martínez, the Salvadoran Army massacred anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 peasants and indigenous people in response to a communist uprising in 1932, in an event known in El Salvador as La Matanza.[b][2] The National Democratic Organization was established by Rivera in 1965. It was a collection of far-right paramilitaries and death squads that tortured political opponents, intimidated voters, rigged elections, and killed peasants.[3][4] President Fidel Sánchez Hernández initiated the Football War with Honduras in July 1969, claiming that the Honduran government had allowed violence targeting Salvadorans to go unchecked following El Salvador's victory over Honduras in the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[5] In March 1979, President Romero ordered soldiers to fire on a crowd of protestors using live ammunition.[6] The military regime received support from the United States due to its anti-communist stance, which aligned with the United States' Cold War interests.[7]


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  1. ^ Wood, Elizabeth (2003). Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 22.
  2. ^ Anderson, Thomas P. (1971). Matanza: El Salvador's Communist Revolt of 1932. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 88–91. ISBN 9780803207943.
  3. ^ Popkin, Margaret (2000). "Peace without Justice: Obstacles to Building the Rule of Law in El Salvador". 44 (1). Pennsylvania State University Press: 26–48. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Stanley, William (1996). The Protection Racket State Elite Politics, Military Extortion, and Civil War in El Salvador. Temple University Press. pp. 107–132. ISBN 9781566393911. JSTOR j.ctt14bswcg.
  5. ^ Veytskin, Yuriy, Lockerby, Claire, & McMullen, Steven (2009–2013). Schorr, Matthew, Barrett, Lindsey, & Leachman, Colby (ed.). "The Soccer War". Soccer Politics. Duke University. Retrieved 17 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Presidentes de El Salvador - Primera Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno" [Presidents of El Salvador - First Revolutionary Government Junta]. Presidente Elías Antonio Saca El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. ^ Beverley, John (1982). "El Salvador". Social Text (5). Duke University Press: 55–72. doi:10.2307/466334. JSTOR 466334.

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