gabe snodgrass. el salvador located in latin america (next to honduras and guatemala)
TRANSCRIPT
CIVIL WAR IN EL SALVADOR
Gabe Snodgrass
El Salvador
Located in Latin America (next to Honduras and Guatemala)
Key Players Civil war between
military-led government of El Salvador and Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)
Background Before the war started in
1980, there had been violence and tension between the rich and poor
Frustration from the lower class started when coffee became a major crop for El Salvador
95% of El Salvador’s income came from coffee but all of this money went to about 2% of the people
Background cont.
In 1932, Augustin Farabundo Marti formed the Central American Socialist Party and led peasants against the govt.
The El Salvadoran military and death squads killed about 30,000 of those people
Marti was arrested and executed
Events leading up to Civil War With the guerilla forces
becoming more and more relevant, the govt. brought back the death squads to fight the rebels
In 1979, rebels overthrew the El Salvadoran government. However, they failed to do what they promised
Because of this the FMLN was formed
Start of the Civil War
Officially began in 1980 The military killed anyone suspected of
supporting the revolution Often clergy, teachers, unionists, or
independent farmers
Death Squads Known during the war
as Escuadron de la Muerte or “Squadron of Death”
Became well known after killing Archbishop Oscar Romero in 1980
Later that year, 3 nuns and a lay worker were raped and murdered
Death Squads cont. Wiped out entire
villages Along with the rest
of the El Salvadoran military, death squads were funded by U.S.
All attacks by death squads were denied by El Salvadoran govt. and U.S.
During the War
Soon after the murder of Archbishop Romero, peaceful rallies became violent as the military fired into the crowds of unarmed people
At this point, the civil war was receiving international attention
FMLN Used strategy by destroying
coffee plantations, bridges, cut power lines and anything else that supported the military
To return the favor, the FMLN kidnapped and murdered government officials
Made advancements in weapons as the war went on
Refused to attend presidential elections
Near the End
All the countries resources were exhausted from both sides
Since the U.S. aided the military with weapons and money, they were able to continue fighting
The End Fighting left 75,000
people dead, most of which were peasants and innocent people
Lasted 12 years (1980-1992)
U.S. Involvement Supplied El Salvadoran
military with funds and weapons
Temporarily cut funds after nuns were killed in 1980 but proceeded after Ronald Reagan took office
At the height of their aid, U.S. supplied $1.5 million to the government
Cut funds in 1990 after UN got involved
Debate still goes on today as to whether it was okay for the United States to support the military
Video Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TixMbRPMcfg&feature=related
Work Cited Christine J. "El Salvador: Contradictions of Neoliberalism and Building Sustainable Peace." Web. "Civil War in El Salvador." Nova Online Home Page. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
<http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/ElSalvador80/Salvador80.html>. this site will be used for more background information.
"El Salvador: 1945-92." MacroHistory : World History. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch24salvador.htm>. this site will be used for information on the events leading up to the start of the war.
"El Salvador Civil War." GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/elsalvador2.htm>. this site will be used for info on some events that happened during the time of the civil war.
"Enemies of War - El Salvador: Civil War." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/elsalvador2.html>. this site will be used for information on why and how the U.S was involved.
Gammage, Sarah. "El Salvador: Despite End to Civil War, Emigration Continues." Migration Information Source. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=636>. this site will be used for info on the immigration of El Salvadorians to the United States.
"Peace and Conflict Monitor, US Influence in El Salvador's Civil War." Peace and Conflict Monitor. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=591>. This site will be used for information on U.S involvement in the war and their influence.
"Salvadoran Civil War." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvadoran_Civil_War>. This site will be used for basic background info on the civil war.
"War in El Salvador." University of Michigan. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://www.umich.edu/~ac213/student_projects07/transgang/war.html>. this site will be used for the causes and effects of the civil war.
Work Cited cont. http://owenfranken.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Walls/G0000Zim
m7TsMBI8/I0000cup2GE8lbfg http://www.newint.org/features/2005/12/01/powerpolitics/ http://milpubblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/aar.html http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releases/2007/elsalvador.html http://www.seniorreligion.com/30th_anniversary.htm http://www.cathnewsindia.com/tag/spain/ http://
www.contactpressimages.com/portfolios/rebbot/rebbot_portfolio6.html
http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=5333 http://
www.freedomarchives.org/La_Lucha_Continua/Farabundo_Marti.html
http://centralamericanpolitics.blogspot.com/2010/11/fmln-in-el-salvador.html
http://www.cja.org/article.php?list=type&type=199 http://www.returntoelsalvador.com/blog/117