El Salvador's Brutal Civil War: What We Still Don't Know

Overview

• Timeframe: 1980-1992
• Casualties: Approx. 75,000 lives lost
• Key Event: Peace accords signed to end the conflict

Recent Seminar

• Event: History, Society, and Memories seminar on the 20th anniversary of the Peace Accords.
• Participants: International scholars from Spain, Costa Rica, Mexico, France, Germany, Holland, and the US.
• Organized by: Unit of Investigations about the Salvadoran Civil War (UIGCS) at the Universidad de El Salvador.
• Goal: Present a non-ideological, factual account of the war.

Primary Actors

• Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN): Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group.
• Government of El Salvador: Backed by the United States.

FMLN Support

• International Support:
  • Supported by Nicaragua, Cuba, and indirectly by the Soviet Union.
  • Limited direct support from the Soviets but substantial support from Nicaragua and Cuba.
  • Use of Managua and Havana for strategic meetings.
  • Movement of weapons and personnel facilitated through the Gulf of Fonseca and Nicaragua.
  • Military training and medical care provided in Nicaragua and Cuba.
• Recognition:
  • Recognized as a belligerent force by France and Mexico in 1981.
  • Additional support from individuals in Costa Rica and Mexico.

FMLN History and Activities

• Formation:
  • Formed from multiple groups in October 1980, including FPL, ERP, FARN, FAL, and later PRTC.
  • Initial guerrilla activities started a decade earlier.
• Violence and Tactics:
  • Conducted kidnappings, bombings, and bank robberies in the 1970s.
  • Killed several mayors and informants during the 1980s.
  • Adopted more terrorist tactics in the late 1980s.

Government Role

• US Support:
  • Backed politically, economically, and militarily by the US.
  • Moderate civilian government led by José Napoleón Duarte.
  • US aimed to isolate the far-right and defeat FMLN.
• ARENA:
  • Founded by Roberto D'Aubuisson, rejected US-supported reforms.
  • US had a complex relationship with D'Aubuisson and ARENA.

Human Rights Violations

• Government Violations:
  • Majority of human rights abuses by government forces, including massacres such as El Mozote.
  • President Mauricio Funes apologized for the El Mozote massacre.

Knowledge Gaps and Further Research

• Under-researched Areas:
  • FMLN's use of violence and its effect on postwar support.
  • El Salvadoran government's role and actions during the war.
  • Relationships between political entities and the US.
• Future Research:
  • Create clearer understanding of pro-democracy forces of the time.
  • Detailed studies on human rights violations by both sides.

Conference Importance

• Significance: Largest meeting of its kind, fostering collaboration between local and international scholars.
• Military Participation:
  • Armed Forces' openness in participating marks potential for greater transparency.

Additional Resources

• Books:
  • "The Massacre at El Mozote" by Mark Danner.
  • "Everyday Revolutionaries: Gender, Violence and Disillusionment in Postwar El Salvador" by Lotti Silber.
  • "La Palabra en El Bosque" by Carlos Enrique Consalvi and Jeffrey Gould.

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Author

• Mike Allison: Associate professor in Political Science at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Blogs on Central American politics.