Historical Background to the Civil War

In 1980 a civil war erupted in El Salvador that lasted 12 years and resulted in the death of 75,000 people. El Salvador is a small poor country in Central America that has historically received aid from the United States which increased dramatically during the war to fund the Salvadoran Government against left-wing guerilla forces.

The causes of the war were rooted in the economic disparity in the country which existed since Spanish colonial rule. The war "reflected the struggle against ingrained social inequality by the poor majority of Salvadorans". The military and small wealthy class controlled the power in the country which caused friction and unrest amongst the people. In the 1970s, labor unions and churches responded to the oppressive government by organizing and participating in political activism. The army was used to break strikes and organizations against the operations and actions of the government through physical force.

The bloodless coup of Dictator Carlos Romero in 1979 lead to the establishment of the Junta Government. The sentiment against the government grew among Salvadorans as they were violently suppressed by paramilitary forces. The Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador wrote a letter to U.S. President Jimmy Carter on February 19, 1980 asking him to stop aiding the Junta Government and military if he truly cares about the human rights abuses in El Salvador.

Archbishop Oscar Romero continued to speak out against the violence of the Salvadoran Government until he was shot dead while delivering a sermon on March 25, 1980.The assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero is considered to be the tipping point for the revolutionary groups. On March 30, 1980 more than 25,000 people attended the funeral and snipers opened fire on the crowd mourning the loss of a beloved religious figure.

 The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) was formed later that year on October 10th of 1980 by five leftist political organizations. The FMLN is named after the labor leader Agustin Farabundo Marti. Marti lead a revolt in January of 1932 in which the military responded with brutal violence as an estimated 30,000 civilians were massacred. The FMLN guerilla forces fought against the Salvadoran Government and the paramilitary forces in the 12 year war. The United States provided military aid to the Salvadoran Government to amount to 6 billion dollars.