SALVADOR. Republic of El Salvador
A country in Central America on the Pacific Ocean coast. Area - 21.4 thousand km². Capital - San Salvador (with suburbs over 1.5 million). Administrative-territorial division - 14 departments. Population - 6.7 million (2004), 89% - mestizos. Official language - Spanish. Dominant religion - Catholicism. Currency - US dollar, the colón has practically been phased out.
Diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation were established on June 3, 1992.
National holiday - September 15 - Independence Day (1821).
According to the constitution of 1983 (in effect with amendments from 1991), El Salvador is a unitary republic. The head of state and government is the president (since June 1, 2004 - E. A. Saca Gonzalez from the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA)), elected by universal direct suffrage for 5 years. The highest legislative body is the unicameral Legislative Assembly, consisting of 84 deputies, elected by universal direct suffrage under a proportional representation system for 3 years (the last elections were held in March 2003).
Political parties and organizations: The Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) - founded in 1981, the ruling (since 1989) center-right party, representing the interests of various layers of the bourgeoisie and civil servants.
It has 27 seats in parliament. The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) - established in 1960 (5 seats). The National Reconciliation Party (16 seats in parliament). The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) - founded in October 1980; united the main left-wing organizations, officially recognized as a political party in 1992, the main opposition party, has 31 seats in parliament. Two parties that split from the FMLN formed the Democratic Party in December 1995.
Major trade union associations: The General Confederation of Trade Unions - part of the ICFTU and ORIT, the General Confederation of Labor, the Salvadoran Unitary Trade Union Federation, the National Confederation of Workers of El Salvador.
Spanish conquistadors conquered the territory of modern El Salvador in 1524-28. From 1560, it was part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala. After declaring independence (September 15, 1821) as a result of the liberation war of Spanish colonies in America from 1823-39, it was part of the federation of the United Provinces of Central America. In 1841, it was proclaimed a republic. The history of El Salvador in the 19th-20th centuries is marked by military coups and wars.
In 1931, the first free elections were held, but after a coup, a military government came to power, which in 1932 suppressed a peasant uprising led by A. Farabundo Marti. Since 1980, the government faced the FMLN, which united 5 leftist organizations, including the Communist Party. Over the years of civil war, more than 75,000 Salvadorans died. In January 1992, in Mexico, a series of documents (Chapultepec Agreements) on a ceasefire and the end of the civil war were signed between representatives of the government of A. Cristiani and the leadership of the FMLN, which came into force in February of the same year.
El Salvador is a member of the UN (since 1945), OAS (since 1948), LAES (since 1975), CAIS (since 1991), CAP.
El Salvador is an agrarian-industrial country. The GDP volume in 2004 was 15.5 billion dollars. The economy is primarily based on the agrarian-industrial sector (production and processing of agricultural products), in which up to 45% of the economically active population (EAP) is employed. Several industries are developing dynamically, primarily light industry (garment, textile, footwear). Agriculture accounts for 20% of GDP (2004). A significant portion of the peasantry has little land, with 90% of the rural population accounting for only 4% of cultivated land, and there is a high proportion of seasonal agricultural workers among the population, with developed rental relations. Coffee, cotton, sugarcane, corn, and rice are grown.
Industry is mainly represented by enterprises processing agricultural raw materials. There are small oil refining, metallurgical, pulp and paper, cement enterprises, and several power plants.
The economy is heavily dependent on foreign, primarily American, capital.
Inflation in 2004 was 5.3%. Foreign exchange reserves grew to 1.6 billion dollars (at the beginning of 2005), and external debt was 4 billion dollars (at the end of 2004).
The length of railways is 140 km, and roads are 12,000 km (2003), of which 1/3 are paved.
The volume of foreign trade (2004): turnover - 9.4 billion dollars, exports - 3.3 billion dollars, imports - 6.1 billion dollars. The main export commodity is coffee - 38% of export value. Other important goods: cotton and cotton fabrics, textile products, sugar, shrimp. Main trading partners: the USA, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela.
Unemployment in 2004 was 30% of the EAP, including fully unemployed 6.3%.
There are several higher education institutions, including universities. Among the largest daily newspapers are "Prensa Gráfica" (100,000 copies), "Diario de Hoy" (100,000), and others. There are 5 television channels and 64 commercial radio stations.