Identification. El Salvador the Savior, was named by Spanish conquistadors. Guanaco, a type of bird, is a slightly derogative nickname used by other Central Americans and some Salvadorans. Location and Geography. El Salvador is a country of 8,260 square miles (21,040 square kilometers) in Central America, between Guatemala and Honduras. Mountains separate the country into the southern coastal belt, the central valleys and plateaus, and the northern mountains. These regions have created slight cultural variations because of the different crops grown in each one. Coffee grown in the mountains and cane grown on the coast provide the rural population with paid labor; in the central valleys, corn and beans are grown for private consumption and for sale. Most industry is in the center, where the capital, San Salvador, is located. Other large cities include San Miguel in the east and Santa Ana in the west. Demography. In 1999 the population was estimated to be 5,839,079, making El Salvador one of the most densely populated countries in the Western Hemisphere. Over a million persons have migrated, starting in the early 1980s during a civil war. Legal and illegal emigration has continued at a high rate since the end of the civil war in 1992. Linguistic Affiliation. Almost all residents speak Spanish, which was brought in by the conquistadors. Before the Spanish conquest, the area was inhabited by the Pipil Indians. Very few Salvadorans now speak the indigenous language. El Salvador and indigenous descent, who had some rights but could not hold private property. The indigenous peoples were exploited and mistreated. Independence from Spain (1821) was sought by criollos who were inspired by the American and French revolutions. They gained support from the Indians and landless peasants by promising to end the abuses committed by landowners. After the revolution, Indians and peasants remained impoverished and largely without land or legal rights. When the Central American provinces were joined with Mexico in 1822, El Salvador insisted on the autonomy of the Central American countries. Guatemalan troops that were sent to enforce the union were forced out in June 1822. In 1823, José Manuel Arces army was defeated by the Mexicans. However, in February of that year, a revolution in Mexico ousted the emperor, and a new congress granted independence to the Central American provinces. That year the United Provinces of Central America were formed from five Central American countries. When that federation dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. The first decades of independence saw uprisings by poor mestizos and Indians to protest their impoverishment and marginalization. Before the cultivation of coffee was introduced in the late nineteenth century, indigo was the principal export crop. In 1833, an Indian rebellion of indigo sowers and cutters led by Anastasio Aquino demanded distribution of land to the poor and the just applic Motor vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians crowd a busy street in downtown San Salvador. and children were used as mechanisms of social terror. Much of that repression was in response to the political organization of the people in the 1960s and 1970s as workers, peasants, women, students, and shanty town dwellers developed organizations to demand political and economic rights. Many political activists felt that legal political organizing would not lead to political change and began organizing the clandestine guerrilla units that formed the nucleus of the FMLN in 1980. By 1979 the FMLN was perceived as a threat by the military dictatorship. A new spirit of activism emerged within the Catholic Church. Rural peasants and church workers formed Christian base communities and agricultural cooperatives in the 1960s and 1970s. Progressive priests and nuns formed Bible study groups in which peasants reflected on local conditions in light of biblical texts. This organizing was considered communist and subversive and became a target of government repression. A group of young officers staged a military coup and formed a cabinet consisting of civilians from a wide spectrum of political parties. However, the military and the oligarchy frustrated attempts at change. Three more juntas followed, but each was incapable of implementing reform and stopping atrocities. In 1980, the archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, who had become a forceful critic of military oppression, ?.................................... The geography of El Salvador is unique among the nations of Central America. The country borders the North Pacific Ocean to the south and southwest, with Guatemala to the north-northwest and Honduras to the north-northeast. In the southeast, the Golfo de Fonseca separates it from Nicaragua. El Salvador is the smallest Central American country in the area and is the only one without a coastline on the Caribbean sea. Location: Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and Honduras Geographic coordinates: 13 50 N, 88 55 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area: total: 21,040 sq km land: 20,720 sq km water: 320 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Massachusetts Land boundaries: total: 545 km border countries: Guatemala 203 km, Honduras 342 km Coastline: 307 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 200 nm Climate: tropical; rainy season (May to October); dry season (November to April); tropical on coast; temperate in uplands Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow coastal belt and central plateau Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro El Pital 2,730 m Natural resources: hydropower, geothermal power, petroleum, arable land Land use: arable land: 31.85% permanent crops: 12.07% other: 56.08% (2001) Irrigated land: 360 sq km (1998 est.) Natural hazards: known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; contamination of soils from disposal of toxic wastes Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea Geography - note: smallest Central Americ ?............................................................................................................................................................... El Salvador is a democratic republic governed by a president and an 84-member unicameral Legislative Assembly. The president is elected by universal suffrage by absolute majority vote and serves for a 5-year term. A second round runoff is required in the event that no candidate receives more than 50% of the first round vote. Members of the assembly are elected based on the number of votes that their parties obtain in each department (circumscriptive suffrage) and serve for 3-year terms. The country has an independent judiciary and Supreme Court. Legislative and municipal elections were held in January 2009, and presidential elections were held in March 2009. San Salvador is the biggest city in el salvador 1. Hydro-Electric Power. El Salvadors hydro-electric power is very important to its economy, because they create over 2/3 of their countrys electricity from it. El Salvador is able to generate so much hydro-electric power, because of its 300 lush rivers, that flow down from El Salvadors Highlands, to hydro-electric power plants in the built-up southern part of the country. 2. Geothermal Power. El Salvador is able to use a green alternative to heating homes & buildings instead of oil. Because, of El Salvadors many volcanoes, underground magma heats hot springs, lagoons, ponds, lakes, and pools, through geothermal activity (heat from inner Earth). And, El Salvador is able to collect this geothermal heat, and use for the benefit of the people, and the environment. 3. Petroleum. (Gasoline/ Oil) Because of El Salvadors location on the Pacific Ocean, it is able to use the process of offshore drilling, to drill for petroleum. Miles offshore, from El Salvadors port cities, there are many oil rigs, where people work to pump oil out of the ocean floor. Petroleum is important to El Salvadors economy, because they make a profit when selling their petroleum to companies such as British Petroleum, and CITGO. These companies then sell the petroleum to larger countries such as America. The primary language in El Salvador is Spanish. The holidays and festivals of el salvador: New Years Day - January 1: New Years Eve is the happiest day for everyone. Peace Accords - January 16: On January 16, 1992, the Government of El Salvador and the FMLN signed the Peace Accords in Chapultepec, Mexico, that ended one of the most painful chapters in the history of El Salvador. Holy Week - march or april: Its very much celebrated throughout the country since Catholic Romans are predominant. Salvadoreans celebrate Holy Week before Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. Labour Day - May 1: Government and public enterprise close their offices for International Labor Day. Trade unions make a parade commemorating that day. Patrons Saint Festivities - August 6: Festivities of the Patron Saint, the Saviour of the World (El Salvador del Mundo) are also called August Feasts (Fiestas Agostinas) are the countrys most important festivities. Religious, recreational and trade activities are carried out that usually last a whole week. The principal attraction is the traditional Bajada (descent) or procession of the Patron Saint, the Saviour of the Word, that parades the principal streets of downtown San Salvador, representing the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 13:08:39 +0000
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