Poverty and Inequality in El Salvador

The poverty and inequality that has plagued El Salvador since the early twentieth century stems from their rule by the Oligarchy, which dates back to colonial times. The Oligarchy's lack of consistency in implementing and following through with reforms has prevented progress from occurring in the country. Furthermore, the many wars and political revolts in El Salvador impeded its economic and social growth. The main focus of the Oligarchy was to turn a profit. And because they essentially ran the economy, they assumed that their actions were best for both their profits and the country's economy as a whole. Their selfish single-minded focus led to a growing economic inequalities, which was subsequently accommodated by ethnic and class oppression, which was mostly toward the indigenous Indians. Finally, by the mid nineteenth century, the Fourteen Families declared all communal lands their own, evicting the indigenous Indians from them in the process, often violently (Mopp and Morris 74). By the later part of the century, most of the generals and presidents in El Salvador were major coffee growers or members of the Fourteen Families, which is why the Oligarchy maintained such a strong grip of power over the country. Given the aforementioned circumstances, one can clearly see that the fourteen families have had a long history of control over nearly every aspect of the political and economic life in El Salvador.

El Salvador's problems with inequality began by the mid sixteenth century, when an oligarchy was created in the form of three ecomiendas. The ecomiendas were put in power by the crown in order to grow and export cacao, mostly due to the lack of natural resources to exploit, such as gold or silver (Montgomery 70). Cacao became...

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...hority and simultaneously has to worry about violence, it is no wonder that inequality and poverty has been and continues to be such a significant problem in El Salvador with seemingly no end.

Works Cited

Barry, Tom and Deb Preusch. The Central America Fact Book. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1986.

Cohen, Isaac and Gert Rosenthal. “The Dimensions of Economic Policy Space in Central America.” The Future of Central America. Eds. Richard R. Fagen and Olga Pellicer. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983. 15-34.

Fagen, Richard R. Forging Peace. New York: Basil Blackwell, Inc., 1987.

Krauss, Clifford. Inside Central America. New York: Summit Books, 1991.

Montgomery, Tommie Sue. "El Salvador: The Roots of Revolution." Central America: Crisis and Adaptation. Eds. James A. Morris and Steve C. Ropp. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1984. 67-118. Print.