Labor and taxation
News •
Although El Salvador has fared better than other Latin American countries when population increases are taken into account, the country’s modest economic growth, averaging 2 percent or less since the 1990s, is not enough to produce dramatic improvements in standards of living. With about one-half of the population living in poverty and more than one-fourth reportedly feeling they must migrate abroad in search of work, some critics have argued that the average Salvadoran household has not benefited from neoliberalism. From the late 1980s to the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, poverty levels rose slightly. With prices rising, privatization has been vigorously opposed. Finally, the fruits of stable economic growth have not been equitably distributed, as the income of the richest 10 percent of the population is almost 50 times higher than that of the poorest 10 percent. Pervasive poverty and inequality, combined with 15 percent unemployment and significant underemployment, have contributed to the related problems of crime and violence that have plagued El Salvador since its civil war. In the early 1990s, more than two-thirds of the economically active population was unemployed or underemployed, and more than seven-tenths of Salvadorans lived in poverty. Poverty levels declined significantly in the early 21st century, but income inequality widened following privatization programs. Women make up about two-fifths of the country’s labor force, and they are mainly employed in the agriculture and domestic-service sectors. Four-fifths of workers in the country’s maquiladoras are women.
Labor unions have a long history in El Salvador. The first unions were formed in the early 20th century and were meant to promote savings among members, as well as education and charitable work. The worldwide Great Depression, which began in 1929, aggravated social tensions and contributed to an increasingly militant labor union movement in El Salvador.
Several important labor unions were created in the 1960s and during the civil war in the 1980s, including the National Farm Workers’ Union (Unión Nacional Obrero Campesino; UNOC), the General Work Confederation (Confederación General del Trabajo; CGT), and the National Unity of Salvadoran Workers (Unidad Nacional de Trabajadores Salvadoreños; UNTS). Following the end of the armed conflict in 1992, the labor union sector was restructured, and a number of new or reorganized unions were formed, including the Federation of Independent Associations and Unions of El Salvador (Federación de Asociaciones o Sindicatos Independientes de El Salvador; FEASIES) and the National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers (Confederación Nacional del Trabajadores Salvadoreños; CNTS). El Salvador has a sales tax, an income tax, and a value-added tax (VAT).
Transportation and telecommunications
El Salvador has adequate transportation facilities except in some of the more remote areas. Two main routes of the Inter-American Highway, part of the Pan-American Highway, cross El Salvador from Guatemala to Honduras, forming the framework of a road system that reaches almost all parts of the country; one of these routes runs across the central highlands, the other across the coastal plain. Several paved roads connect with these main highways. The country’s narrow-gauge railroad is operated by a national agency; the main tracks link the capital with ports on the coast and with the Guatemalan border. For seaborne commerce, El Salvador relies on three ports—Acajutla, La Libertad, and Cutuco (near La Unión). El Salvador’s main outlet to the Atlantic is through the Guatemalan port of Puerto Barrios, with which San Salvador is linked by road and rail, via Guatemala City. An international airport was constructed in the 1970s on the coastal plain 25 miles (40 km) south of the capital. It replaced Ilopango Airport, which now serves as a military base. Severe damage to the country’s transportation network resulted from the civil war.
El Salvador’s telecommunications system was privatized in the late 1990s; however, it has been set back various times by natural disasters. Cellular phone usage in El Salvador is high compared with that in most Central American countries, and the number of fixed-line telephones, even in urban areas, has significantly decreased.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
El Salvador’s constitution of 1983 provides for representative government with three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial. Executive power is exercised by the president (who is elected by popular vote and serves a nonrenewable five-year term), the cabinet ministers, and the undersecretaries of state. Legislative power is vested in a unicameral, popularly elected National Assembly, whose members serve three-year terms. The judicial branch is composed of a Supreme Court of Justice, whose magistrates are selected by the National Assembly, and of other tribunals as established by statute.
Local government
El Salvador’s territory is divided into departamentos (departments), each of which is divided into distritos (districts), which are further divided into municipios (municipalities). Each department has a governor and a substitute governor, appointed by executive power; and each municipality has a popularly elected municipal council composed of a mayor, a secretary, and aldermen, the number of whom is in proportion to the population.
Political process
All Salvadorans age 18 and older have universal suffrage. Prominent political parties traditionally have included the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista; Arena) and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional; FMLN). There are many other parties, some of which were formed under the auspices of the FMLN. With the rise of authoritarian politician Nayib Bukele in the late 2010s, his New Ideas (Nuevas Ideas) party and the affiliated GANA (Grand Alliance for National Unity) party became particularly prominent. A party list proportional representation system is used for elections to the National Assembly. For presidential elections, a candidate must receive a majority in the first round to win election; otherwise, a runoff is required. Voter turnout has generally been low, with about two-fifths to one-half of eligible citizens participating.
Health and welfare
Despite a number of governmental attempts to achieve a more equitable distribution of income through a major program of agrarian reform in the late 1970s, as well as improvements in education and social services following the war, progress in El Salvador has been exceedingly slow. Low-cost housing, medical assistance, and employment programs were improved upon in an attempt to meet the needs and problems of the displaced and the unemployed, but such programs have had difficulty keeping up with deteriorating conditions. The doctor-to-patient ratio is low, and most doctors serve only urban areas. Moreover, in many areas the war and population displacement have caused the reappearance and spread of diseases, particularly dengue fever, malaria, and cholera. Malnutrition is increasingly prevalent.
Education
All public and private institutions of learning are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. Since 1968 the school system has been composed of preschool, primary, and secondary educational categories, followed by university-level education. Primary education is free and compulsory. More than four-fifths of Salvadorans aged 10 and over are literate. Among the institutions of higher education are the University of El Salvador (1841), the University Dr. José Matías Delgado (1977), and the Central American University of José Simeón Cañas (1965). There are also schools for technology, fine arts, agriculture, social services, and nursing.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
The cultural life of El Salvador, like its population, is an amalgam of Indigenous and Spanish influences, though European influences predominate, largely because most Indigenous cultural activities have been suppressed by the government since the 1930s. Indigenous customs do survive, however, in small clusters of villages, such as those around Izalco and Nahuizalco, and traditional crafts are produced in Ilobasco (pottery) and Izalco (textiles). This cultural mix also can be seen in the country’s rich tradition of folklore, poetry, and painting. The Roman Catholic Church also has been a major influence on almost every aspect of cultural life.
Daily life and social customs
Owing to the large number of Salvadorans who have immigrated to, or returned from, the United States since the 1980s, the lifestyle of broad segments of El Salvador’s urban population (and even that of those in many rural areas) has become increasingly Americanized. In one of San Salvador’s wealthier neighborhoods, Escalón, a number of multiscreen cinemas have opened, and the city’s principal boulevard is lined with shopping malls and fast-food restaurants. On weekends North American, South American, and Mexican rock music is played in the bars.
Salvadorans of all classes enjoy their country’s folk music. Although the country’s dozens of radio stations mostly play North American and Mexican popular music, there has been a revival of the canción popular, folk music often mixed with political commentary. Canción popular can frequently be heard playing in El Salvador’s restaurants, which serve staples such as casamiento, a spicy mixture of rice and beans, and pupusas, rice- or corn-flour tortillas stuffed with a variety of fillings, including cheese, meat, and beans.
The arts
El Salvador’s elite have long prized the arts, especially literature. But any kind of antigovernment literature was an extremely dangerous enterprise during the civil war years. Many Salvadoran writers, artists, and intellectuals fled the country. Few returned, but those who did, including poets Manlio Argueta and Francisco Rodriguez, gave frequent readings before large audiences. One of the country’s most widely respected poets, Roque Dalton, was assassinated in 1975 as a result of leftist internecine struggle.
Private benefactors have played as important a role as that of the government in patronizing the arts. The government has increased its contribution to national cultural life, particularly in its expansion of secondary and continuing education.
Cultural institutions
The majority of El Salvador’s cultural institutions are located in the capital. The most significant of these are the state-supported National Theatre and the Presidential Theatre, the latter of which offers performances of works by contemporary playwrights. Museums, also in the capital, include the Natural History Museum of El Salvador and the David J. Guzmán National Museum, which specializes in history and archaeology.
Sports and recreation
Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in El Salvador and is played throughout the country. Internationally renowned players include Jorge (“El Mágico”) González, who is considered one of the most accomplished footballers in the history of the Central American game, and Jaime (“La Chelona”) Rodríguez, who, with González, led the national team’s memorable run in the 1982 World Cup. Other sports, such as baseball and boxing, are still incipient in El Salvador. Numerous adventure sports are popular, including hiking, surfing, fishing, and kayaking. The country first competed in the Olympics at the 1968 Games in Mexico City.
Media and publishing
The majority of newspapers and publishing companies in El Salvador are privately owned. Major daily newspapers include the ultraconservative El Diario de Hoy (“Today’s Daily”), the conservative La Prensa Gráfica (“The Graphic Press”), El Mundo (“The World”), and the government-owned Diario Oficial (“Official Daily”), among others.
René Santamaria Varela David G. Browning Markus Schultze-KraftHistory
Early history
Before the Spanish arrived in Salvadoran territory in the 16th century, it was occupied by a complex of Indigenous peoples. Of these the Pocomam, Chortí, and Lenca, all related to the Maya, were the more ancient, but the Pipil, whose civilization resembled that of the Aztecs in Mexico, were predominant. Archaeological ruins dating from pre-Columbian times are Tazumal, Pampe, El Trapito, and San Andrés. Of several large towns founded by Indigenous people, Sonsonate and Ahuachapán still exist. For more information on early history and the treatment of the country in its regional context, see Central America.
