Ang Showing pla ng “TRIBU” ay nasa pagitan ng Nov 26, Dec 3, Dec 6, & Dec 13, 2008 at Isetann movie theater(Recto), Quiapo, Manila. Plzzzzzz watch & wait 4 copies. At ang mga copies nito ay mailalabas s December 2009.TY!!!!!!!!
Ang Showing pla ng “TRIBU” ay nasa pagitan ng Nov 26, Dec 3, Dec 6, & Dec 13, 2008 at Isetann movie theater(Recto), Quiapo, Manila. Plzzzzzz watch & wait 4 copies. At ang mga copies nito ay mailalabas s December 2009.TY!!!!!!!!
Representing for all the former/ex/current/REAL PINOY G’s out there that has elevated themselves from the bullshit. Representing for those that are still caught up in the madness…keep your head up cause it can only get better. I hope to attract some of you older heads as well as you youngsters to the forum for discussion and communication. We are the 2nd largest Asian group in California (around 1.1 million).The Pinoy Gang warfare has died down, it will never be what it was in the 80’s and 90’s.
To all the filipinos in P.I and U.S. The old Og’z and the new generation. To the fil-ams and the FOBs. Dark skin Filipinos to the light skinned Filipinos! To the Filipinos claiming asian and the Filipinos claiming islanders! To all the hatas acting like they shit worth watch. Just because we dont bang like the old days… It Doesnt Mean your SaFe! Filipino gangs vary in styles and roots. Filipinos don?t usually internet bang so I have the opportunity to make this video and represent my people. STS TST PR BNG JFX TGP LVM RPB MP13 AKP SZA THS Hell Side Rebel Boys Batang City Jailers Bahala Na Barkada!!!!!
Big R’s to Chicano gang cliques whose hood we share and the number 13 trese we both claim, to my Koreans which majority in the past, filipinos have recruited in gang activity, to blacks, whites. Also big ups to the samoan/tongan islanders they be representing for their peoples!
Reasons for our slow disappearance: most are locked up in prison. Good reason for blooding out of a Filipino gang is the formation of a family, you don?t want your kids to do mistakes like when you were a youngster! Another reason is the WAR in IRAQ, filipinos came to serve. Some og’z are motivated with hip hop or any positive message and sees the light of life to pursue their goals and thus leaving the hood and finding opportunities.
| República de El Salvador
Republic of El Salvador
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
| Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish) "God, Union, Liberty" |
||||||
| Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador | ||||||
 |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
San Salvador 13°40′N, 89°10′W |
|||||
| Official languages | Spanish | |||||
| Demonym | Salvadoran | |||||
| Government | Presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Antonio Saca | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from Spain | September 15, 1821 | ||||
| - | from the UPCA | 1842 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 21,040 km² 8,124 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 1.4 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | estimate | 7.1 million (98th) | ||||
| - | 2008 census | 5.8 million | ||||
| - | Density | 318.7/km² (34th) 823.6/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2006 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $38.617 billion (89th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $5,600 (103rd) | ||||
| Gini (2002) | 52.4 (high) | |||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0.735 (medium) (103rd) | |||||
| Currency | United States dollar ($) (2001-present)2 (USD "$") |
|||||
| Time zone | (UTC-6) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .sv | |||||
| Calling code | +5031 | |||||
| 1 | Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%). | |||||
| 2 | The United States dollar is the currency in use. Financial information can be expressed in US Dollars and in Salvadoran colón, but it is out of circulation. http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html | |||||
El Salvador (República de El Salvador, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe (e)l salβaˈðoɾ]) is a country in Central America. The area was originally called by the Pipil "Cuzhcatl", in Spanish "Cuzcatlan", which in Nahuatl means "The Land Of Precious Things".
After the Spanish conquest, the land was baptized by Spanish
conquistadors as "Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesucristo El Salvador Del
Mundo" ("Province of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Savior Of The World"),
now abbreviated as "República de El Salvador".
The country borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras.
With a population of approximately 5.8 million people, it is the most
densely populated nation in Central America and is undergoing rapid industrialization.
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In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors
ventured into ports to extend their dominion to the area that would be
known as El Salvador. They were firmly resisted by the Pipil and their
remaining Mayan-speaking neighbors. Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Hernán Cortés, led the first effort by Spanish forces in June 1524.
The people defeated the Spaniards and forced them to withdraw to
Guatemala. Two subsequent expeditions took place—the first in 1525,
followed by a smaller group in 1528—to bring the Pipil under Spanish
rule.[citation needed]
Towards the end of 1810, a combination of internal and external
factors allowed Central American élites to attempt to gain independence
from the Spanish crown. The internal factors were mainly the interest
the élites had in controlling the territories they owned without
involvement from Spanish authorities. The external factors were the
success of the French and American revolutions in the eighteenth
century and the weakening of the military power of the Spanish crown
because of its wars against Napoleonic France. The independence movement was consolidated on November 5, 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matias Delgado,
sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a
call for the insurrection. After many years of internal fights, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15, 1821.
When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador
resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries.
In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed by the five Central American states under General Manuel José Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador’s early history as an independent state was marked by frequent revolutions.
From 1872 to 1898, El Salvador was a prime mover in attempts to reestablish an isthmian federation. The governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua formed the Greater Republic of Central America via the Pact of Amapala in 1895. Although Guatemala and Costa Rica considered joining the Greater Republic (which was rechristened the United States of Central America
when its constitution went into effect in 1898), neither country
joined. This union, which had planned to establish its capital city at Amapala on the Golfo de Fonseca, did not survive a seizure of power in El Salvador in 1898.
The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the process whereby land became concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy of few families. A succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, throughout the last half of the nineteenth century generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, on the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities)
primarily in support of the coffee trade, on the elimination of
communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, on the
passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labour for the coffee fincas (plantations), and on the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.
The coffee industry grew inexorably in El Salvador. As a result, the
élite provided the bulk of the government’s financial support through import duties on goods imported with the foreign currencies that coffee sales earned. This support, coupled with the humbler and more mundane mechanisms of corruption, ensured the coffee growers of overwhelming influence within the government.
El Salvador’s early history as an independent state was marked by
frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-30 was relative
stability achieved. The economic élite, based on agriculture and some
mining, ruled the country in conjunction with the military.
The economy, based on coffee-growing after the mid-19th century, as
the world market for indigo withered away, prospered or suffered as the
world coffee price fluctuated. From 1931—the year of the coup in which
Gen.
FILIPINO GANGS
Category: Blogging
Filipino Gangs are present in the Philippine Islands and Internationally, most of these are located in the United States of America (California primarily). There is a very large number of Filipino street gangs in the Philippines and United States, Organised crime is also known to exist between a number of gangs.
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In general, their are gangs located in the Philippines that deal in organised crime, and follow a general hierarchy. These gangs can be linked to certain families or barkadas (groups). A number of gangs are known to deal in illegal narcotics, some known criminal activities include home invasion, kidnapping and torture, extortion, arson, grand theft auto, robberies,
sale of illegal narcotics, battery assault, shootings and numerous
known & unknown homicides. Some gangs are so largely spread out
among the island nation, that it is hard to keep track of the various
branch’s, this is evident in one of the largest and most infamous gangs
among the Philippine Islands, known as the "SSC" gang also known as the
"Sigue-Sigue Comando".
Filipino gangs are also known to be located in parts of Europe and Asia, the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and primarily in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
A number of gangs in the Philippines are known to be active around the nation, the majority being centered in Manila, with locations in and around the general Metro Manila region.
One of the most infamous areas in the City is Tondo, Manila. Tondo is known to be the "Hub" of Gangs in the region, with the majority of street gangs being located in this district.
Apart from a very large number of local street gangs, there are a number of organized gangs among the Philippines.
True Brown Style 13 "Vera Indio Istilo at Trese" (TBS 13) is one of
The most infamous street gangs in the Philippines because of its crime
related activities throughout the country. Murder, homicide, illegal
drug trade, and home invasions is their primary criminal activities.
The TBS 13 gang originated from San Diego, California, USA.
Filipina-mexicanas deportees brought the gangs name and formed a clique
in the Philippines. The clique which started in the Philippines was
exclusively for females. But as the gang grew, the former female
members accepted male members to join the gang, and those members made
the gang infamous in the Philippines. True Brown Style 13 is the most
popular Gang in the Philippines.Their colors are Red,Blue & Black
their Sets are either Blood or Crip. Other True Brown Style 13 Hoods
are connected with Bloods & Crips in the USA.
The Kuratong Baleleng was an organized crime syndicate that once was
an anti-communist vigilante group. They were known nationwide due to
their end in an alleged shootout with the Police on May 1995 in Quezon
City.[1]
For most Filipinos, the Kuratong Baleleng is that notorious group of
bank robbers that met a bloody end in a supposed shootout with the
police one May morning in 1995 in Quezon City. But down in Ozamiz City,
in northwestern Mindanao, Kuratong is said to be well-loved — and
well-connected, even if no one denies that it is a criminal syndicate.[1]
Armed with assorted type of high powered firearms and operates in
the cities of Ozamis,Cagayan De Oro, Pagadian and Dipolog, and other
neighboring cities and municipalities in Mindanao (in southern
Philippines), Cebu in Visayas (in Central Philippines), and Metro
Manila in Luzon (in northern Philippines). The group is engaged in
robbery/hold-up, carnapping, illegal drugs trafficking, smuggling of
rice and sugar, Human smuggling, Gun Running, Extortion, Loan sharking,
prostitution, illigal gambling, murder for hire, Protection rackets
from Politicians,Businessmen and Drug dealers.[1]
The members of the group are on the "BISAYA" speaking christians, no
accurate estimation of the groups number since it has never been
infiltrated and fear has become Kuratong Baleleng’s most effective
weapon.The Kuratong baleleng is the most well organized crime gang in
the Philippines, it was rumored that some criminal gangs such as Abu
sayyaf got killed without any permission to operate from the Kuratong
Baleleng Bosses. "They have no qualms in killing perceived enemies,"
says a local journalist who asked not to be named. "They are
untouchables." This perception is fueled by the fact that authorities
refuse to even investigate criminal activities allegedly perpetrated by
the group. The gang also has business ties with other ASIAN gangs such
as Japanese YAKUZA and The Chinese Triads and the Russian Mafia. The
Kuratong baleleng is also known for supplying rebels such as the NPA and Abu sayyaf
groups.It was also rumored that the organization has gone
International, and not online in the Philippines but, also some
neighboring parts of the nation such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
singapore and even Saudi Arabia and Middle east.
Joining this gang is not easy since this is a highly organized crime
syndicate and most members are Family associated by blood. The gang
organization are consist of BOSSES these bosses are known as "PAPA"
manong or Ninong the Head Boss or the father of the Family or Clan
which comprise of the underboss the second in command. The Next are the
"KUYA or MANOY" Big brother or the CAPTAIN. Each Captains consists of
Soldiers or "Sondalo" these sondalo are the one’s who always do the
dirty works for the BOSSES. The Gang is hard to infiltrate and for that
matter has never ever been infiltrated since the gang has bigtime
protection such as former Generals ,Former mayors and former military
people.[1]
The Akyat Bahay Gang is known as a violent home invasion-oriented gang which also has a history with drug dealing. [2]
The Bahala Na Gang ("Come What May") is one of the most notorious of
Filipino Gangs, they were established among inmates in the notorious
jails of the Philippines in the early 1940s and eventually spread its
operations throughout the globe. The gang is known to have chapters in
North and Latin America as well as Europe alongside their Philippine
presence. A tattoo of a Question Mark (?)
located on any part of the body is a mark of the infamous Filipino
gang. The Bahala Gang, despite rumours that the gang is "dying" out,
mainly due to the majority of its leaders being in jail, still has a
presence in the Philippines and primarily in the United States.[3]
The Sigue Sigue Comando Gang is one of the largest Gangs in the
Philippines. The Gang has thousands of members spread around the Philippine Islands,
the gang is involved with home invasion, kidnapping and torture,
extortion, arson, auto theft, robberies, sales of illegal narcotics,
battery assault, shootings and numerous known & unknown homicides.[4]
Bacolod Underground Crips 13 (BUC13) is a type of gang that has been
known for its number of vandals in the city of Bacolod, Negros
Occidental. The gang is involved with shootings and mostly vandalism.
The gang is widely spread in the city of Bacolod and is not involved
with other gang wars except their own. The gang is said to have
connected with True Brown Style 13 and other Crip gangs in Bacolod City.
Watch Dogg Committee (WDC) is an underground type of gang wherein
people, especially the poor and the oppressed and other members of the
community, unite to liberate themselves from all forms of
enslavement,violence and corruption, abusive use of power or authority,
and create a condition in which there are no oppressors and oppressed.
This gang is more on "activism", somewhat peaceful, but sometimes uses
violence to get what they want such as to maintain order in their
territory or to teach an enemy a lesson. It is widely existing in
Mindanao and Visayas.
Filipino Gangs in the United States are largely focused in and
around the Southern California region (SoCal) and generally the entire
West Coast region. Due to their hispanic culture they are more
assimilated with other Latino gangs. There are thousands of Filipino
gang members which mostly center around the California region, Chicago,
New York, and Miami. They represent a diversre array of backgrounds and
affiliations with some being with the Bloods, Crips, Sureños, Norteños,
Peoples, and Folks.
There are a number of Filipino Gangs located on the west coast, below is a list of Major Filipino Gangs in the region.
The Temple Street Varrio over time has expanded outside its original
territory and has established itself in the far corners of the L.A
country, Northern Califas and in Las Vegas, Nevada, Salt Lake City,
Utah, Pennysylvania, Washington and Oregon. And in addition to having
established grounds on the west side of L.A TST has heads representing
their Varrio in South Central, San Fernando Valley, Palmdale,
Lancaster, Antelope Valley, Cerritos, Glendale, Long Beach, Pomona and
Oakland. TST has even branched out Internationally, having presence in
cities in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador
and the TST is well represented across the sea in the Philippines with
the Pinoy Locos Clique which formed from the Temple Street Varrio.
The TST Pinoy Locos 13 Clique was originally started out in the
Early 1980s and became one of the most notorious gangs in the
Philippines, it also started out in the homegrounds of west central L.A
but eventually with the deportation of many of the Filipino gang
members of the Clique back to the Philippine Islands, the Clique became
larger than ever back in the Philippines alongside the United States
and its linked TST Cliques.
The B Down Boys are a Filipino gang from the San Diego area.[5]
Bahala Na Barkada is a Filipino gang from the San Diego area.[5]
The Bahala Na Gang ("Come What May"), also known by its abbreviation BNG [6],
is one of the most notorious of Filipino Gangs, they were established
among inmates in the notorious jails of the Philippines in the early
1940s and eventually spread its operations throughout the globe. The
gang is known to have chapters in North and Latin America as well as
Europe alongside their Philippine presence. A tattoo of a Question Mark
(?) located on any part of the body is a mark of the infamous Filipino gang.
The BNG have a large influence primarily focused around the Los Angeles area and Bay area.
According to last reports, they are located in the following Los Angeles areas:[7][3]
Los Angeles, West Covina, Glendale, Hawthorne, Montebello, Pomona, Cerritos and Carson
The Filipino Stoners, also known as TFS, is one of the most
notorious of Filipino Gangs in northern california. Established by
filipinos of the mid 1940’s who were sick of the racism they dealt
with. The gang is known to have gang members all over California and
some in the Philippines
Watch Dogg Committee (WDC) is a Filipino-African-American secret
brotherhood. This group was first formed in Crown Heights, New York,
U.S.A. in 1985 as a protection group against oppressive gangs. 1995,
Watch Dogg became a gang when most of its members affiliated with the
Bloods. 1996, Watch Dogg reached Los Angeles and became an inter-gang
(with members from different gangs and groups such as Flipside 13, Tau
Gamma Pinoy, Tropang Hudas, etc.). The word "Committee" was added to
emphasize that the group is a mixture of different members from
different gangs. It reached the Philippines in the year 1997. Though it
is believed that the group disbanded in U.S. in the year 1996, there
are still members in Crown Heights, New York and San Francisco Valley,
Los Angeles. Members are widely present in the Philippines particularly
in Dipolog City, Katipunan Zamboanga del Norte, Dumaguete City, Bayawan
City, Bukidnon, General Santos City, and etc.
The Hellside Gang (HSG) is a Filipino street gang located on the
West coast of the United States. The gang’s turf is known to be at
Gardena, Alhambra and Baldwin Park.[7][3]
The Insane Diego mob is a Filipino gang from San Diego. The gang is known to be located on the South Side of San Diego.[5]
JEFROX (JFX) was founded in 1979, is a Filipino Street Gang, with
locations in Los Angeles (Maplewood) and Valleyside (Panorama, San
Fernando, North Hills, Mission Hills and Northridge).[7]
Spoiled Brotherz also known as Spoiled Bratz (SBZ) originally 13 heads
from Los Angeles, is the ruthless, 2nd to the last click of the gang
and was active in the valley around 1998-2005. Multiplied from Los
Angeles to The ValleySide. Spoiled Brotherz became the number one click
in their generation passing other clicks from the 90’s, and highly
respected in Los Angeles and The ValleySide. Because of numerous
attempted murder, battery and drive bys. Their main rival was Van Nuys
Asian Boyz (ABZ) and Mara Salvatruchas (MS). Recent incedent was the
shootout on Panorama Sea Food City and the Kennedy High drive by
attempted murder. The youngest click and that are still active until
now are called No Mercy Pinoy (NMP) Valleyside. This click was
originated from Spoiled Brotherz Click (SBZ).
The Mabuhay Pinoy Trece (MP13) is a Filipino gang with locations in Eagle Rock, Walnut, Highland Park and parts of Los Angeles. [7][3]
The Pinoy Real Gang (PR), pronounced Pinoy Re-al street gang was
founded in the early 1980s in Atwater Village, California. Located 9
miles Northeast of Downtown L.A. Pinoy is a Filipino slang name for a
Filipino male. Real used in a Spanish term, pronounced Re-al which
means Royal or King. The gang name is abbreviated to PR or PRG (G
meaning Gang). [7]
Pinoy Real Gang has known established sets and cliques throughout Southern California and Las Vegas and the Philippines.
Active sets includes: Atwater Village, Granada Hills, Norwalk, West
Covina, Hawthorne, Rancho Cucamonga, Pasadena, Las Vegas, Culver City,
Cerritos, Chino Hills, Anaheim and Rowland Heights.[8]
The gang has been associated with recent gang turfwars and crimes,
most recent was an icedent involving the Jefrox (JFX) gang, where a
person was tortured and beaten by some PRG members.[9][10]
The Real Pinoy Brothers (or Real Pinoy Brotherhood, RPB)formed in
San Francisco in the mid 80s. Daly City 2nd generation were led by Uno
and Dos. RPB are located in Palmdale, Carson and the San Fernando
Valley and also Northern California such as in cities of San Francisco,
Daly City, San Jose, Milpitas, Fremont as well as Las Vegas,NV
(Inactive).Las Vegas founders were Temper and Droopy.Temper was from
the Bay Area,Droopy was from the Los Angeles Area.RPB was most
notorious for violence whihc included
kidnapping,extorsion,robberies,car theft and attempted murder.[7]
The Satanas (STS) is a large Filino Gang with a lot of locations
spread out in the US west coast, places in Los Angeles such as West and
South Barrio Rampart, East and South Barrio Long Beach, Lakewood,
Palmdale, Cerritos, Barrio South Oxnard, Santa Ana, North and South
Valleyside, Barrio Norwalk, West Covina and La Puente.[7][3] The Satanas also have a presence in the San Diego Region of the US west coast.[5]
The Satanas also have links with the TST (Varrio Temple Street), as this is the clique the Satanas originated from.[11]
The Tres Cantos (TCS) , is a gang that originated in Eaglerock, and also has cliques in Los Angeles.
The Tropang Hudas are known to be around Baldwin Park, Eagle Rock and Glendale.[7]
The Unique Boys are a Filipino gang from San Diego. The gang is known to be located on the South Side of San Diego.[5]
Filipino Gangs in Canada are present, probably due to the large
numbers of Filipino’s living in Canada. The TST temple Street Varrios
(Of which the Pinoy Locos 13 is also linked to) has also a significant
influence in Canada among other places.
Most recently a number of Vietnamese and Filipino gangs where
involved in a turf war, with a number of Bashings, a Drive By and 8
recorded stabbings. The fights have involved a variety of bladed
weapons. The groups commonly favour machetes, swords and illegal
switchblades and butterfly knives, police said.[12]
| Mara Salvatrucha | |
| Years active | 1980’s - present |
|---|---|
| Territory | Mostly Central America, United States and Europe |
| Ethnicity | Latino |
| Membership | 100,000+ |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, weapon trafficking, murder, contract killing, etc. |
Mara Salvatrucha refers to large gangs in Central America and the United States. The gang names are commonly abbreviated as MS[1], Mara, and MS-13, and are composed mostly of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and other Central Americans. The Mara Salvatrucha gangs have cliques, or factions, located throughout the United States and Latin America.
The gang
has moved beyond its Salvadoran and American origins and now can be
found in other nations, including Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia,
Spain, Great Britain and Germany, according to international press on
criminal activity. Membership in the United States was believed to be
as many as 10,000 as of 2005.[2] MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, black market gun sales, human trafficking, theft, assaults on law enforcement officials, and contract killing.[3]
Their activities have caught the eye of the FBI, who in September
2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting
660 arrests across the country.[4] In the United States, the gang’s strongholds have historically been in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. In Allentown, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and other areas of Pennsylvania, the gang is known for its street graffiti,
which is used to depict their presence on certain blocks and also
sometimes provides clues to their forthcoming crimes, including murder,
robbery, narcotics, and especially as a prediction of retaliatory
violence.
Former gang member Brenda Paz
said that MS is well structured, with multiple leaders, and that the
gang’s goal is to become the top gang in the United States.[4]
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The Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles.[5] There is some dispute about the etymology of the name (see below: Etymology). The most common belief is that the word "Mara" refers to the Spanish word for "gang",
and it is suggested that "Salvatrucha" refers to the Salvadoran
guerrillas, the source of much of the gang’s early manpower. The gang
was set up in Los Angeles in 1980’s by Salvadoran immigrants in the city’s Pico-Union neighborhood.[6]
Originally, the gang’s main purpose was to protect Salvadoran
immigrants from other, more established gangs of Los Angeles, who were
predominately comprised of Mexicans and African-Americans.[7]
For this reason, the gang initially allowed only Salvadorans to join,
but later allowed other Central Americans to join as well.
Many Mara Salvatrucha gang members from the Los Angeles area have
been deported either because of their illegal status in the United
States, or for committing crimes as non-citizens, or both. As a result
of these deportations, members of MS-13 have recruited more members in
their home countries. The Los Angeles Times contends that deportation
policies have contributed to the size and influence of the gang both in
the United States and in Central America. Salvadoran authorities report
that approximately 60% of prison inmates serving prison terms for
gang-related crimes there have either fled prosecution or been deported
from the United States.[8]
On July 13, 2003, Brenda Paz, a 17-year old female, was found murdered on the banks of the Shenandoah River in Virginia.
Brenda Paz was killed for "snitching" or telling the police about Mara
Salvatrucha activities. Four of her friends were later convicted of the
murder.[9]
On December 23, 2004, one of the most widely publicized MS-13 crimes in Central America happened in Chamelecón,
Honduras. An intercity bus was intercepted and sprayed with automatic
gunfire, killing 28 passengers most of whom were women and children. [10]
In February 2007 the courts found Juan Carlos Miranda Bueso and Darwin
Alexis Ramírez guilty of several crimes including murder and attempted
murder. Ebert Anibal Rivera was held over the attack and was arrested
in Texas after having fled [11]. Juan Bautista Jimenez, accused of masterminding the attack, was killed in prison. According to the authorities, he was hanged by fellow MS-13 inmates.
On May 13, 2006,
Ernesto "Smokey" Miranda was murdered at his home in El Salvador, a few
hours after declining to attend a party for a gang member who had just
been released from prison. He had begun studying law and working to
keep children out of gangs. He was an ex-high ranking soldier and one
of the founders of the Mara Salvatrucha.[12]
On June 4, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario police executed 22 search warrants, made 17 arrests and laid 63 charges following a five-month investigation.[13]
According to The Washington Times, MS-13 "is thought to have established a major smuggling center" in Mexico.[14] There were reports that MS-13 members were ordered to Arizona to target border guards and Minuteman Project volunteers.[15][16].
In 2005, Honduran Security Minister Oscar Alvarez
and the President of El Salvador raised alarm by claiming that Al-Qaeda
was meeting with MS-13 and other Central American gangs to help them
infiltrate the United States. FBI agents said that the U.S.
intelligence community and governments of several Central American
countries found there is no basis to believe that MS-13 is connected to
Al-Qaeda or other Islamic radicals although he did visit Central
America to discuss the issue.[17]
Robert Morales, a prosecutor for Guatemala, indicated to The Globe and Mail that some Central American gang members seek refugee status in Canada. Superintendent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
integrated gang task force, John Robin, said in an interview that "I
think [gang members] have a feeling that police here won’t treat them
in the harsh manner they get down there".[18]
Robin noted that Canadian authorities "want to avoid ending up like the
U.S., which is dealing with the problem of Central American gangsters
on a much bigger scale".[18]
There are various possible explanations for the name Mara
Salvatrucha. Some sources state the gang is named for La Mara, a street
in San Salvador, and the Salvatrucha guerrillas who fought in El Salvador’s bloody civil war [19]. Additionally, the word mara means gang in Caliche and is taken from marabunta, the name of a fierce type of ant. "Salvatrucha" is a portmanteau of Salvadoran and trucha, a Caliche word for being alert, usually entailing preparedness for crime or abuse from police.
An MS suspect bearing gang tattoos is handcuffed. In 2004, the FBI created the MS-13 National Gang Task Force. A year later, the FBI helped create National Gang Intelligence Center.
Many Mara Salvatrucha members cover themselves in tattoos. Common markings include "MS", "Salvatrucha" the "Devil Horns" the name of their clique and other symbols.[20]
A December 2007 CNN internet news article stated that the gang was
moving away from the tattoos in an attempt to commit crimes without
being noticed. [21]
Members of Mara Salvatrucha, like members of most modern American
gangs, utilize a system of hand signs for purposes of identification
and communication. One of the most commonly displayed is the "devil’s head"
(formed by extending the index and little fingers of the hand while
tucking in the middle and ring fingers with the thumb), which forms an M when displayed upside down. This hand sign is similar to the same symbol commonly seen displayed by heavy metal
musicians and their fans. Founders of Mara Salvatrucha borrowed the
hand sign after attending concerts of heavy metal bands they liked.
El Salvador
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This article is about the country in Central America; for other uses, see El Salvador (disambiguation).
República de El Salvador
Republic of El Salvador
Flag of El Salvador Coat of arms of El Salvador
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish)
"God, Union, Liberty"
Anthem: Himno Nacional de El Salvador
Location of El Salvador
Capital
(and largest city) San Salvador
[show location on an interactive map] 13°40′N, 89°10′W
Official languages Spanish
Demonym Salvadoran
Government Presidential republic
- President Antonio Saca
Independence
- from Spain September 15, 1821
- from the UPCA 1842
Area
- Total 21,040 km²
8,124 sq mi
- Water (%) 1.4
Population
- estimate 7.1 million (98th)
- 2008 census 5.8 million
- Density 318.7/km² (34th)
823.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate
- Total $38.617 billion (89th)
- Per capita $5,600 (103rd)
Gini (2002) 52.4 (high)
HDI (2007) ▲ 0.735 (medium) (103rd)
Currency United States dollar ($) (2001-present)2 (USD "$")
Time zone (UTC-6)
Internet TLD .sv
Calling code +5031
1 Telephone companies (market share): Tigo (45%), Claro (25%), Movistar (24%), Digicel (5.5%), Red (0.5%).
2 The United States dollar is the currency in use. Financial information can be expressed in US Dollars and in Salvadoran colón, but it is out of circulation. http://www.bcr.gob.sv/ingles/integracion/ley.html
El Salvador (República de El Salvador, Spanish pronunciation: [reˈpuβlika ðe (e)l salβaˈðoɾ]) is a country in Central America. The area was originally called by the Pipil "Cuzhcatl", in Spanish "Cuzcatlan", which in Nahuatl means "The Land Of Precious Things".
After the Spanish conquest, the land was baptized by Spanish conquistadors as "Provincia De Nuestro Señor Jesucristo El Salvador Del Mundo" ("Province of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Savior Of The World"), now abbreviated as "República de El Salvador".
The country borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. With a population of approximately 5.8 million people, it is the most densely populated nation in Central America and is undergoing rapid industrialization.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 History
* 2 Politics
* 3 Departments and municipalities
* 4 Geography
* 5 Climate
* 6 Crime
* 7 Natural disasters
* 8 Economy
* 9 Tourism
* 10 Culture
o 10.1 Education
o 10.2 Cuisine
o 10.3 Music
* 11 Demographics
* 12 References
* 13 Bibliography
* 14 See also
* 15 External links
[edit] History
Main article: History of El Salvador
In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors ventured into ports to extend their dominion to the area that would be known as El Salvador. They were firmly resisted by the Pipil and their remaining Mayan-speaking neighbors. Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Hernán Cortés, led the first effort by Spanish forces in June 1524.
The people defeated the Spaniards and forced them to withdraw to Guatemala. Two subsequent expeditions took place—the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528—to bring the Pipil under Spanish rule.[citation needed]
Towards the end of 1810, a combination of internal and external factors allowed Central American élites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish crown. The internal factors were mainly the interest the élites had in controlling the territories they owned without involvement from Spanish authorities. The external factors were the success of the French and American revolutions in the eighteenth century and the weakening of the military power of the Spanish crown because of its wars against Napoleonic France. The independence movement was consolidated on November 5, 1811, when the Salvadoran priest, Jose Matias Delgado, sounded the bells of the Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, making a call for the insurrection. After many years of internal fights, the Acta de Independencia (Act of Independence) of Central America was signed in Guatemala on September 15, 1821. When these provinces were joined with Mexico in early 1822, El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries.
In 1823, the United Provinces of Central America was formed by the five Central American states under General Manuel José Arce. When this federation was dissolved in 1838, El Salvador became an independent republic. El Salvador’s early history as an independent state was marked by frequent revolutions.
From 1872 to 1898, El Salvador was a prime mover in attempts to reestablish an isthmian federation. The governments of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua formed the Greater Republic of Central America via the Pact of Amapala in 1895. Although Guatemala and Costa Rica considered joining the Greater Republic (which was rechristened the United States of Central America when its constitution went into effect in 1898), neither country joined. This union, which had planned to establish its capital city at Amapala on the Golfo de Fonseca, did not survive a seizure of power in El Salvador in 1898.
The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the process whereby land became concentrated in the hands of an oligarchy of few families. A succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, throughout the last half of the nineteenth century generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant cash crop, on the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, on the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, on the passage of anti-vagrancy laws to ensure that displaced campesinos and other rural residents provided sufficient labour for the coffee fincas (plantations), and on the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.
The coffee industry grew inexorably in El Salvador. As a result, the élite provided the bulk of the government’s financial support through import duties on goods imported with the foreign currencies that coffee sales earned. This support, coupled with the humbler and more mundane mechanisms of corruption, ensured the coffee growers of overwhelming influence within the government.
El Salvador’s early history as an independent state was marked by frequent revolutions; not until the period 1900-30 was relative stability achieved. The economic élite, based on agriculture and some mining, ruled the country in conjunction with the military.
The economy, based on coffee-growing after the mid-19th century, as the world market for indigo withered away, prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. From 1931—the year of the coup in which Gen. Maximiliano Hernández Martínez came to power until he was deposed in 1944 there was brutal suppression of rural resistance. The most notable event was the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising, commonly referred to as La Matanza (the massacre), headed by Farabundo Martí and the retaliation led by Martínez’s government, in which approximately 30,000 indigenous people and political opponents were murdered, imprisoned or exiled. Until 1980, all but one Salvadoran temporary president was an army officer. Periodic presidential elections were seldom free or fair and an oligarchy in alliance with military forces ruled the nation. Atrocities of the regular troops, such as the El Mozote massacre, and the murder of Catholic missionaries and other religious aid workers, such as Jean Donovan, by death squads, established by parts of the landowners, to stop the Land reform from 1983, result in the Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1991). In 1972 José Napoleón Duarte (PDC) was elected President but betrayed by the military Party, Party of National Conciliation, tortured and had to flee. After a Coup d’état in October 1979, the RGJunta and elections in 1984 he became president. The war lasted until the Chapultepec Peace Accords were signed in January 1991. Five different factions of the guerrillas formed the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional party (FMLN) in order to seek office through democratic elections. Since then, the FMLN has gradually gained representation, particularly in the Legislative Assembly and local governments. Since 1989 the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, founded by Roberto D’Aubuisson, has won every presidential election.
In 1998, El Salvador became one of three Latin-American countries where abortion is illegal with no exceptions, along with Chile and Nicaragua.
[edit] Politics
Main article: Politics of El Salvador
The political framework of El Salvador is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multiform multi-party system. The President of El Salvador, currently Antonio Saca, is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The Judiciary branch is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.
[edit] Departments and municipalities
See also: List of cities in El Salvador
El Salvador is divided into 14 departments (departamentos), which, in turn, are subdivided into 267 municipalities (municipios).
Department names and abbreviations for the 14 Salvadoran Departments:
1. AH Ahuachapán
2. CA Cabañas
3. CH Chalatenango
4. CU Cuscatlán
5. LI La Libertad
6. PA La Paz
7. UN La Unión
8. MO Morazán
9. SM San Miguel
10. SS San Salvador
11. SV San Vicente
12. SA Santa Ana
13. SO Sonsonate
14. US Usulután
Departments of El Salvador
Departments of El Salvador
[edit] Geography
Shaded relief map of El Salvador
Shaded relief map of El Salvador
The scenic Jiboa Valley and San Vicente volcano
The scenic Jiboa Valley and San Vicente volcano
San Vicente Volcano
San Vicente Volcano
San Vicente Volcano
San Vicente Volcano
Survey marker at the summit of Cerro El Pital
Survey marker at the summit of Cerro El Pital
Main article: Geography of El Salvador
El Salvador is located in Central America. It has a total area of 8,123 square miles (21,040 km²), smaller than that of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the smallest country in continental America, and is affectionately called the "Tom Thumb of the Americas" ("Pulgarcito de America"). It has 123.6 square miles (320& km²) of water within its borders. Several small rivers flow through El Salvador into the Pacific Ocean, including the Goascorán, Jiboa, Torola, Paz and the Río Grande de San Miguel. Only the largest river, the Lempa River, flowing from Honduras across El Salvador to the ocean, is navigable for commercial traffic. Volcanic craters enclose lakes, the most important of which are Lake Ilopango (70 km²/27 sq mi) and Lake Coatepeque (26 km²/10 sq mi). Lake Güija is El Salvador’s largest natural lake (44 km²/17 sq mi). Several artificial lakes were created by the damming of the Lempa, the largest of which is Embalse Cerrón Grande (350 km²/135 sq mi).
El Salvador shares borders with Guatemala (126 mi/203 km) and Honduras (212.5 mi/342 km). It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline. The highest point in the country is Cerro El Pital at 8,957 feet (2,730 meters), which shares a border with Honduras.
[edit] Climate
El Salvador has a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons. Temperatures vary primarily with elevation and show little seasonal change. The Pacific lowlands are uniformly hot; the central plateau and mountain areas are more moderate. The rainy season extends from May to October. Almost all the annual rainfall occurs during this time, and yearly totals, particularly on southern-facing mountain slopes, can be as high as 217 centimeters. Protected areas and the central plateau receive lesser, although still significant, amounts. Rainfall during this season generally comes from low pressure over the Pacific and usually falls in heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Hurricanes occasionally form in the Pacific with the notable exception of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
From November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather patterns. During these months, air flowing from the Caribbean has had most of the precipitation wrung out of it while passing over the mountains in Honduras. By the time this air reaches El Salvador, it is dry, hot, and hazy.
[edit] Crime
In the past years El Salvador has experienced high crime rates including gang-related crimes, and gangs in general. Some say that this was a result of the deportation of thousands of Salvadorans from the U.S, the majority of whom were members of MS13 (Mara Salvatrucha), in the mid-90s. The gangs in which Salvadorans had been involved in the United States began to show up in El Salvador. In 1996, San Salvador was considered the second most dangerous city in the western hemisphere, according to statistics.[1]
Today El Salvador experiences some of the highest murder rates in the world, it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.[2] In response to this, the government has set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership, but so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programs was a gang-reform called "Super Mano Dura" (Super Firm Hand). Super Mano Dura had little success and was highly criticized by the U.N., it saw temporary success in 2004 but then saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens was 41, with 60% of the homicides committed were gang-related.[2] The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador recorded a total of 552 murders in January and February 2005 alone. In addition, crime rose 7.5% in just a year, from 2005-2006.[3] Homicides are among the highest with respect to the overall crime rate. Intentional homicides reported in 2006 reached up to 3,928 from 3,778 in 2005, and a rate of 55 violent deaths per every 100,000 people.[4]
In the first half of 2007 La Policía Nacional Civil of El Salvador statistics showed lower numbers in homicide, and extortions as well as robbery and theft of vehicles. In 2007 homicides in El Salvador had reduced 22%, extortions reduced 7%, and robbery and theft of vehicles had gone down 18%, all in comparison with the same period in 2006.[5] Despite the lower numbers of homicides in the first half of 2007, El Salvador continues to have the highest homicide rate in Central America and one of the highest in Latin America.
[edit] Natural disasters
A landslide caused by one of the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes
A landslide caused by one of the 2001 El Salvador earthquakes
El Salvador lies along the Pacific ring of fire, and is thus subject to significant tectonic activity, including frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Recent examples include the earthquake on January 13, 2001 that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale and caused a landslide that killed more than eight hundred people;[6] and another earthquake only a month after the first one February 13, 2001, killing 255 people and damaging about 20% of the nation’s housing. Luckily, many families were able to find safety from the landslides caused by the earthquake. El Salvador’s most recent destructive volcanic eruption took place on October 1, 2005, when the Ilamatepec volcano spewed up a cloud of ash and rocks, which fell on nearby villages and caused two deaths (Óscar Armando Guerrero Ventura and José Rafael Guevara).[7][6]
El Salvador’s position on the Pacific Ocean also makes it subject to severe weather conditions, including heavy rainstorms and severe droughts, both of which may be made more extreme by the El Niño and La Niña effects. In the summer of 2001, a severe drought destroyed 80% of the country’s crops, causing famine in the countryside.[8][9] On October 4, 2005, severe rains resulted in dangerous flooding and landslides, which caused a minimum of fifty deaths.[6] El Salvador’s location in Central America also makes it vulnerable to hurricanes coming off the Caribbean, however this risk is much less than for other Central American countries.
The Santa Ana volcano in El Salvador is currently dormant, but while it was still erupting it was very dangerous. Lago de Coatepeque (One of El Salvador’s lakes.) was caused by a massive eruption.
[edit] Economy
Main article: Economy of El Salvador
According to the IMF and CIA World Factbook, El Salvador has the third largest economy in the region (behind Costa Rica and Guatemala) when looking at nominal Gross Domestic Product and purchasing power GDP.[10] El Salvador’s GDP per capita stands at US$5,800 , however, this "developing country" still faces many social issues and is among the 10 poorest countries in Latin America.[11] Approximately 2.4 million (30.7%) people live below the poverty line, its GDP real growth rate is low compared to its neighbors, and 6% of the population is unemployed with much underemployment.
Most of El Salvador’s economy has been hampered by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, but El Salvador currently has a steadily growing economy.
GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP) in 2007 was estimated at $41.65 billion USD. The service sector is the largest component of GDP at 60.7%, followed by the industrial sector at 29.6% (2006 est.). Agriculture represents only 7.6% of GDP (2006 est.).
The Salvadoran economy has experienced mixed results from the recent government’s commitment to free market initiatives and conservative fiscal management that include the privatization of the banking system, telecommunications, public pensions, electrical distribution, and some electrical generation, reduction of import duties, elimination of price controls, and an improved enforcement of intellectual property rights. The GDP has been growing since 1996 at an annual rate that averages 2.8% real growth. In 2006 the GDP’s real growth rate was 4.2%.[12] A problem that the Salvadoran economy faces is the inequality in the distribution of income. In 1999, the richest fifth of the population received 45% of the country’s income, while the poorest fifth received only 5.6%.
In December 1999, net international reserves equaled US$1.8 billion or roughly five months of imports. Having this hard currency buffer to work with, the Salvadoran government undertook a monetary integration plan beginning January 1, 2001 by which the U.S. dollar became legal tender alongside the Salvadoran colón and all formal accounting was done in U.S. dollars. This way, the government has formally limited its possibility of implementing open market monetary policies to influence short term variables in the economy. As of September 2007, net international reserves stood at $2.42 billion.[13]
Since 2004, the colón stopped circulating and is now never used in the country for any type of transaction.[14] In general, there was discontent with the shift to the U.S. dollar, primarily because of wage stagnation vis-a-vis basic commodity pricing in the marketplace. Additionally there are contentions that, according to Colin’s Law, a reversion to the colón would be disastrous to the economy. The change to the dollar also precipitated a trend toward lower interest rates in El Salvador, helping many to secure much needed credit for house or car purchases.
A challenge in El Salvador has been developing new growth sectors for a more diversified economy. As many other former colonies, for many years El Salvador was considered a mono-export economy (an economy that depended heavily on one type of export). During colonial times, the Spanish decided that El Salvador would produce and export indigo, but after the invention of synthetic dyes in the 19th century, Salvadoran authorities and the newly created modern state turned to coffee as the main export. Since the cultivation of coffee required the highest lands in the country, many of these lands were expropriated from indigenous reserves and given or sold cheaply to those that could cultivate coffee. The government provided little or no compensation to the indigenous peoples. On occasion, this compensation implied merely the right to work for seasons in the newly created coffee farms and to be allowed to grow their own food. Such actions provided the basis of conflicts that would shape the political landscape of El Salvador for years to come.
For many decades, coffee was one of the only sources of foreign currency in the Salvadoran economy. The Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s and the fall of international coffee prices in the 1990s pressured the Salvadoran government to diversify the economy. The government has followed policies that intend to develop other export industries, such as textiles and sea products. Tourism is another industry Salvadoran authorities see as a possibility. But rampant crime rates, lack of infrastructure, and inadequate social capital have prevented this resource from being properly exploited and is still underdeveloped.
There are 15 free trade zones in El Salvador. The largest beneficiary has been the maquila industry, which provides 88,700 jobs directly, and consists primarily of supplying labor for the cutting and assembling of clothes for export to the United States.[citation needed]
El Salvador signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) — negotiated by the five countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic — with the United States in 2004. CAFTA requires that the Salvadoran government adopt policies that foster free trade. El Salvador has signed free trade agreements with Mexico, Chile, the Dominican Republic, and Panama and increased its trade with those countries. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua also are negotiating a free trade agreement with Canada. In October 2007, these four countries and Costa Rica began free trade agreement negotiations with the European Union. Negotiations started in 2006 for a free trade agreement with Colombia.
Fiscal policy has been the biggest challenge for the Salvadoran government. The 1992 peace accords committed the government to heavy expenditures for transition programs and social services. The Stability Adjustment Programs (PAE, for the initials in Spanish) initiated by President Cristiani’s administration committed the government to the privatization of banks, the pension system, and the electric and telephone companies. The total privatization of the pension system has implied a serious burden for the public finance system, because the newly created private Pension Association Funds did not absorb coverage of retired pensioners covered under the old system. The government lost the revenues from contributors and absorbed completely the costs of coverage of retired pensioners. This has been the main source of fiscal imbalance. ARENA governments have financed this deficit with the emission of bonds, something the leftist FMLN has opposed. Debates surrounding the emission of bonds have stalled the approval of the national budget for many months on several occasions. The emission of bonds and the approval of government loans need a qualified majority (3/4 of the votes) in the National Legislature. If the deficit is not financed through a loan it is enough with a simple majority to approve the budget (50% of the votes plus 1).
Despite such challenges to keep public finances in balance, El Salvador still has one of the lowest tax burdens in the American continent (around 11% of GDP). Many specialists claim that it is impossible to advance significant development programs with such little public sector aid. (The tax burden in the United States is around 25% of the GDP and in developed countries of the EU it can reach around 50%.) The government has focused on improving the collection of its current revenues with a focus on indirect taxes. Leftist politicians criticize such a structure since indirect taxes (like the value-added tax) affect everyone alike, whereas direct taxes can be weighed according to levels of income. A 10% value-added tax (IVA ins Spanish), implemented in September 1992, was raised to 13% in July 1995. The VAT is the biggest source of revenue, accounting for about 52.3% of total tax revenues in 2004.
Inflation has been steady and among the lowest in the region. Since 1997 inflation has averaged 3%, with recent years increasing to nearly 5%. From 2000 to 2006 total exports have grown 19% from $2.94 billion to $3.51 billion. During this same period total imports have risen 54% from $4.95 billion to $7.63 billion. This has resulted in a 102% increase in the trade deficit from $2.01 billion to $4.12 billion.[15]
Remittances from Salvadorans living and working in the United States, sent to family in El Salvador, are a major source of foreign income and offset the substantial trade deficit of $4.12 billion. Remittances have increased steadily in the last decade and reached an all-time high of $3.32 billion in 2006 (an increase of 17% over the previous year).[16] approximately 16.2% of gross domestic product(GDP).
Remittances have had positive and negative effects on El Salvador. In 2005 the number of people living in extreme poverty in El Salvador was 16%,[17] according to a United Nations Development Program report, without remittances the number of Salvadorans living in extreme poverty would rise to 37%. While Salvadoran education levels have gone up, wage expectations have risen faster than either skills or productivity. For example, some Salvadorans are no longer willing to take jobs that pay them less than what they receive monthly from family members abroad. This has led to an influx of Hondurans and Nicaraguans who are willing to work for the prevailing wage. Also, the local propensity for consumption over investment has increased. Money from remittances have also increased prices for certain commodities such as real estate. Many Salvadorans abroad earning much higher wages can afford higher prices for houses in El Salvador than local Salvadorans and thus push up the prices that all Salvadorans must pay.[18]
[edit] Tourism
El Salvador’s ministry of tourism logo
El Salvador’s ministry of tourism logo
The only airport serving international flights in the country is Comalapa International Airport (airport code: SAL). This airport is located in Comalapa, about 30 minutes southeast of the capital.[19] The airport is commonly known as Comalapa International or El Salvador International.
El Salvador’s tourism industry has grown dynamically over recent years as the Salvadoran government focuses on developing this sector. Last year tourism accounted for 4.6% of GDP; only 10 years ago, it accounted for 0.4%. In this same year, tourism grew 4.5% worldwide. Comparatively, El Salvador saw an increase of 8.97%, from 1.15 million to 1.27 million tourists. This has led to revenue from tourism growing 35.9% from $634 million to $862 million. As a reference point, in 1996 tourism revenue was $44.2 million. Also, there has been an even greater increase in the number of excursionists (visits that do not include an overnight stay). 222,000 excursionists visited El Salvador in 2006, a 24% increase over the previous year.[20]
Most North American and European tourists are seeking out El Salvador’s beaches and nightlife. Besides these two choices, El Salvador’s tourism landscape is slightly different than those of other Central American countries. Because of its geographical size and urbanization, there aren’t many nature-themed tourist destination such as ecotours or archaeological monuments. Surfing, however, is a natural tourist sector that is gaining popularity as more surfers visit El Zonte, Sunzal, and La Libertad, surfing spots that are not yet overcrowded. Also, the use of the United States dollar as Salvadoran currency and direct flights of 4-6 hours from most cities in the United States are important things to note for first-time travelers from the United States. Urbanization and Americanization of Salvadoran culture has also led to something else that first time tourists might be surprised to see: the abundance of American-style malls, stores, and restaurants in the three main urban areas, especially greater San Salvador.
Currently, tourists to El Salvador can be classified into four groups: Central Americans; North Americans; Salvadorans living abroad, primarily in the United States; and Europeans and South Americans. The first three represent the vast majority of tourists. Recently, El Salvador is attempting to broaden its tourist base and looking to the last group. Early indicators show that the government’s efforts are working. When comparing January-March 2007 to the same period in 2006 (most recent data available), overall tourism has grown 10%, while from North America 38%, Europe 31%, and South America 36%.[21] In the fall, Livingston Airlines will initiate the only direct flight between Europe (departing from Milan) and El Salvador. The Decameron Salinitas, a recently inaugurated resort, has contributed to the growth of tourists from South America (because of name recognition of the resort chain) and is looking to do the same with Europeans. It is interesting to note that Decameron Salinitas is responsible for half the initial bookings on the Milan-San Salvador flights.[citation needed] This demonstrates a synergy between two of the few businesses that cater to European tourists and is evident of what is necessary in this nascent sector.
Mural in Perquin, former "guerrilla capial" and now a tourist destination.
Mural in Perquin, former "guerrilla capial" and now a tourist destination.
Additionally, more and more tourists continue to be drawn by El Salvador’s turbulent past.[22] Some of the latest tourist attractions in the former war-torn El Salvador are gun fragments, pictures, combat plans, and mountain hideouts. Since 1992, residents in economically depressed areas are trying to profit from these remains. The mountain town of Perquin was considered the "guerrilla capital." Today it is home to the "Museum of the Revolution," featuring cannons, uniforms, pieces of Soviet weaponry, and other weapons of war once used by the FMLN’s (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) headquarters. El Salvador continues to grow as an attraction. 40% of El Salvador visitors want to enjoy the sun and the country’s beautiful beaches; 38% of El Salvador visitors enjoy the colonial structures and the country’s history; and 22% enjoy the nature and El Salvador mountains and volcanoes. According to El Salvador newspaper El Diario De Hoy the top 10 attractions are the beaches in La Libertad, Ruta Las Flores, Suchitoto, Playa Las Flores in San Miguel, La Palma, Santa Ana where you find the country’s tallest volcano, Nahuizalco, Apaneca, Juayua, San Ignacio.[23]
[edit] Culture
The Roman Catholic Church plays an important role in the Salvadoran culture. Significant foreign personalities in El Salvador were the Jesuit priests and professors Ignacio Ellacuria, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and Segundo Montes, who were murdered in 1989 by the Salvadoran Army during the heat of the civil war. Painting, ceramics and textile goods are the main manual artistic expressions. Writers Francisco Gavidia (1863–1955), Salarrué (Salvador Salazar Arrué) (1899-1975), Claudia Lars, Alfredo Espino, Pedro Geoffroy Rivas, Manlio Argueta, José Roberto Cea, and poet Roque Dalton are among the most important writers to stem from El Salvador. Notable 20th century personages include the late filmmaker Baltasar Polio, artist Fernando Llort, and caricaturist Toño Salazar. Amongst the more renowned representatives of the graphic arts are the painters Noe Canjura, Carlos Cañas, Julia Díaz, Camilo Minero, Ricardo Carbonell, Roberto Huezo, Miguel Angel Cerna (the painter and writer better known as MACLo), Esael Araujo, and many others.
The wife of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of the children’s book The Little Prince) was a Salvadoran aristocrat, Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry.
The local Spanish vernacular is called Caliche.
Holidays Date English name Local name
January 16 Peace Accords Day Día de los Acuerdos de Paz Celebrates the peace accords signing between the government and the guerrilla in 1992 that finished the 12-year civil war. Mostly political events.
March/April Holy Week/Easter Semana Santa Celebrated with Carnival-like events in different cities by the large Catholic population.
May 1 Labor Day Día del trabajo International Labour Day
May 10 Mother’s Day Día de las Madres
August 1–7 August Festivals Fiestas de agosto Week-long festival in celebration of El Salvador del Mundo, patron saint of El Salvador.
September 15 Independence Day Día de la Independencia Celebrates independence from Spain, achieved in 1821.
October 12 Day of the Indians Día de los indios Celebration in dedication to the Indians (Amerindians).
November 2 Day of the Dead Día de los Santos Difuntos A day on which most people visit the tombs of deceased loved ones. (November 1 may be commemorated as well.)
November 21 Queen of the Peace Day Dia de la Reyna de la Paz Day of the Queen of Peace, the patron saint. Also celebrated, the San Miguel Carnival, (carnaval de San Miguel) a known feast in El Salvador, celebrated in in San Miguel City, similar to Mardi Gras of New Orleans,where you can enjoy about 45 music bands on the street.
December 24 Christmas Day Navidad In many communities, December 24 (Christmas Eve) is the major day of celebration, often to the point that it is considered the actual day of Navidad — with December 25 serving as a day of rest.
[edit] Education
El Salvador has several universities:
* Universidad de El Salvador, UES
* Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas”, UCA
* Universidad Francisco Gavidia, UFG
* Universidad Tecnologica, UTec
* Universidad Don Bosco, UDB
* Universidad Evangelica
* Universidad de Nueva San Salvador, UNSS
* Universidad Albert Einstein
* Universidad Alberto Masferrer
* Universidad Modular Abierta, UMA
* Universidad Polytecnica
* Universidad Catolica de Occidente, UNICO
[edit] Cuisine
Salvadoran woman at a food stall
Salvadoran woman at a food stall
El Salvador’s most notable dish is the pupusa. Pupusas are a thick hand-made corn tortilla (made using masa de maíz or masa de arroz, a maize or rice flour dough used in Latin American cuisine) stuffed with one or more of the following: cheese (usually a soft Salvadoran cheese, a popular example is Quesillo con loroco), chicharrón (a ground pork product, often mixed with tomato paste), and refried beans. Loroco is a vine flower bud native to Central America. There are also vegetarian options, often with ayote (a type of squash) or garlic. Some adventurous restaurants even offer pupusas stuffed with shrimp or spinach.
Pupusas come from the pipil-nahuatl word, pupushahua. The pupusa’s exact origins are debated, although its presence in El Salvador is known to predate the arrival of Spaniards.[24]
Two other typical Salvadoran dishes are yuca frita and panes rellenos. Yuca frita, which is deep fried cassava root served with curtido (a pickled cabbage, onion and carrot topping) and pork rinds or pepesquitas (fried baby sardines). The Yuca is sometimes served boiled instead of fried. Pan con pavo (bread with turkey) is a warm turkey submarine sandwich similar to a hoagie. The turkey is marinated and then roasted with Pipil spices and handpulled. This sandwich is traditionally served with turkey, tomato, and watercress.
[edit] Music
Main article: Music of El Salvador
El Salvador is a Central American country whose culture is a mixture of Pipil and Spanish. Its music includes religious songs (mostly Roman Catholic) used to celebrate Christmas and other holidays, especially feast days of the saints. Satirical rural lyrical themes are common. Due to the Americanization of El Salvador, popular English music is played on most national radio stations. In 2007, census showed that 67% of the music played on the most popular radio station, consisted of English music.[citation needed]
[edit] Demographics
Main article: Demographics of El Salvador
The 2008 estimated population is 7,066,403.[25] El Salvador has lacked authoritative demographic data for many years due to the fact that until 2007, a national census had not been undertaken since 1992. Prior to the 2007 census, patterns in population growth led many officials (including within the Salvadoran government) to estimate the country’s size at between 6.7 and 6.9 million people [26]. However, on May 12, 2008, El Salvador’s Ministry of Economy finally released statistics gathered in the census of the previous May These data present a surprisingly low figure for the total population - 5,744,113. Challenges to the 2007 census on a number of grounds are forthcoming.
90% of Salvadorans are mestizo (mixed Native American and Spanish origin). 9% report their race as being White; this population is mostly of Spanish descent. There are also some of French, German, Swiss, Chinese, and Italian descent. El Salvador is 1% indigenous, mostly Pipil, Lenca and Kakawira (Cacaopera). Very few Native Americans have retained their native customs, traditions, or languages, especially in the wake of the deliberate 1932 massacres in which the Salvadoran military murdered somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 peasants. El Salvador is the only Central American country that has no visible African population because of its lack of an Atlantic coast and access to the slave trade that occurred along the east coast of the continent. In addition, General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez instituted race laws in 1930 that prohibited blacks from entering the country; this changed during the 1980s and the law was removed.[27][28]
Among the few immigrant groups that reached El Salvador, Palestinian Christians stand out.[29] Though few in number, their descendants have attained great economic and political power in the country, as evidenced by President Antonio Saca — whose opponent in the 2004 election, Schafik Handal, was likewise of Palestinian descent — and the flourishing commercial, industrial, and construction firms owned by them.
Spanish is the official language and therefore spoken by virtually all inhabitants (some of the indigenous still speak their native tongues, but all speak Spanish). English is also spoken by some throughout the republic. Many have studied or lived in English speaking countries (primarily the U.S., but also Canada and Australia), including many young Salvadorans deported from the United States, many of whom had grown up speaking only English. Furthermore, today all public schools teach English as a required course in both primary and secondary school.
Although the majority of El Salvador’s residents are Roman Catholic, Protestantism is growing rapidly and is already representing more than 20% of the population.[30] Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist churches are all growing, as are Pentecostals and Mormons.
The capital city of San Salvador has about 2.1 million people; an estimated 42% of El Salvador’s population live in rural areas. Urbanization expanded at a phenomenal rate in El Salvador since the 1960s, driving millions to the cities and creating growth problems for cities around the country.
According to the most recent United Nations survey, life expectancy for men was 68 years and 74 years for women. Education in El Salvador is free through ninth grade. The national literacy rate is 84.1%.
As of 2004, there were approximately 3.2 million Salvadorans living outside El Salvador, some of whom are undocumented immigrants in the United States. Many other Salvadoran Americans are legal immigrants, many becoming citizens or residents through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.[citation needed] The USA has traditionally been the destination of choice for Salvadorans looking for greater economic opportunity. Salvadorans also live in nearby Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.[31] The majority of expatriates emigrated during the civil war of the 1980s for political reasons and later because of adverse economic and social conditions. Other countries with notable Salvadoran communities include Canada, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Sweden, Brazil, Italy, and Australia.
| War
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A civil war is a military conflict
which arises from a desire for usually radical change in society as a
result of either cultural, social, religious, political or economic
disputes due to diametrically opposed and uncompromising ideas
about the leadership, administration and management of the population
and territory it occupies, and which is resolved through use of weapons. The opponents are usually representatives of the same culture, society or nationality, and contest the right for the control of political power, and with it the right to formulate policy for future administration of the population and resources of the territory where the dispute takes place.
Some civil wars may be preceded by a revolution
when the major societal restructuring is attempted through a rapid and
sudden effort to change the existing governing authority by force. A
slow attempt to change the existing governing authority by force is
called an insurgency, and whether successful or not, is likely to be classified as a civil war by some historians[citation needed] if, and only if, opposed by organized armed forces that seek to fight the insurgents using conventional tactics. Some historians[citation needed] define the civil war as a prolonged violence between organized factions or defined regions of a country, conventionally fought or not.
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The successful civil war of the 1640s in England which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy represented by Charles I became known as the English Civil War, however it has also been described, by Marxists and some historians, as the English Revolution.
The unsuccessful insurgency of the 1860s by southern U.S. states against the federal government backed by Northern states, which also featured organized armies fighting battles, came to be known as the American Civil War. While hostilities were still ongoing, most Confederates preferred to call the conflict the Second American Revolution
or something very similar. In the United States, and in
American-dominated sources, this war is the default "Civil War," with
other civil wars noted or inferred from context.
Civilians fleeing the Second Congo War into Rwanda, 2001
A civil war is "a violent conflict within a country fought by
organized groups that aim to take power at the center or in a region,
or to change government policies".[1]
Everyday usage of the term does not entail a clear threshold for how
much violence is necessary to qualify a conflict as a civil war, as
opposed to terrorism
or low-level political strife. Scholars use two criteria: the warring
groups must be from the same country and fighting for control of the
political center, control over a separatist
state or to force a major change in policy. Their second criterion,
used by some academics, is that at least 1,000 people must have been
killed in total, with at least 100 from each side.[2] The Correlates of War,
a dataset widely used by scholars of conflict, classifies civil wars as
having over 1000 war-related casualties per year of conflict. This rate
is a small fraction of the millions killed in the Second Sudanese Civil War and Cambodian Civil War, for example, but excludes several highly publicized conflicts, such as The Troubles of Northern Ireland and the struggle of the African National Congress in Apartheid-era South Africa.
Based on the 1000 casualties per year criterion, there were 213 civil
wars from 1816 to 1997, 104 of which occurred from 1944 to 1997.[3]
The Final Record of the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva of 1949,
(Volume II-B, p. 121) does not specifically define the term ‘civil
war’. It did, however, describe the criteria that separate any act
committed by force of arms (anarchy, terrorism, or plain banditry) from
those qualifying as ‘armed conflict not of an international character’
which includes civil wars. Among those conditions listed are these four
basic requirements.
• The party in revolt must be in possession of a part of the national territory.
• The insurgent civil authority must exercise de facto authority
over the population within the determinate portion of the national
territory.
• The insurgents must have some amount of recognition as a belligerent.
• The legal Government is “obliged to have recourse to the regular military forces against insurgents organized as military.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) further clarified Article 9 of the Geneva Convention.
They stated that the nature of these armed conflicts, not of an
international character “generally refer to conflicts with armed forces
on either side which are in many respects similar to an international
war, but take place within the confines of a single country.”[4]
Aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, American Civil War, 1863
The U.S. military
has adopted the principles set by the Diplomatic Conference of Geneva
for their definition of civil war. However, it does include an
additional requirement for identifiable armed forces. The December 1990
version of FM 100-20 (Military Operations in Low Intensity Conflict) defines a civil war as:
“A war between factions of the same country; there are five criteria
for international recognition of this status: the contestants must
control territory, have a functioning government, enjoy some foreign
recognition, have identifiable regular armed forces, and engage in
major military operations.”
NATO
does not directly define civil war. However, in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization Glossary of Terms and Definitions (Organisation Du
Traite De L’Atlantique Nord Glossaire De Terms Et Definitions) NATO
does provide a reference for what is not classified as a civil war. The
manual states that ‘civil disturbance’ is defined as "group acts of
violence and disorder prejudicial to public law and order".[5]
This definition supports the premise shared by the Geneva
Convention, ICRC, and the U.S. Military that a civil war is a higher
level of violence commensurate with that of a conventional war of
movement.
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Civil wars that are fought over religion have tended to occur more in monotheistic than in polytheistic
societies; one explanation is that the latter tend to be more
"flexible" in terms of dogma, allowing for some latitude in belief. In Europe through the Middle Ages,
the Christianity of the great bulk of the population was influenced by
pagan tradition. With the great majority of the population illiterate, access to the Bible was limited and led to a significant amount of syncretism
between Christian and pagan elements. With religion so loosely applied,
it was rare for people to feel particularly oppressed by it. There were
periodic appearances of heresies, such as that of the Albigensians, which led to violence, but historians tend to view these to be the product of peasant revolts rather than themselves motivators of a civil war.
As religions tended to become more rigidly defined and understood by
their followers, inter-religious tensions generally increased. The rise
of Islam
witnessed a rash of uprisings against non-Islamic rulers soon after its
appearance. Subsequent Islamic history has been marked by repeated
civil conflicts, mostly stemming out of the Shi’ite-Sunni divide. In Europe the Protestant Reformation had a similar effect, sparking years of both civil and international wars of religion. Civil wars between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism consumed France in the Wars of Religion, the Netherlands during the Eighty Years’ War, Germany during the Thirty Years’ War. Religious disputes among Protestant sects also played a role in the English Civil Wars, while official persecution of Catholics during the French Revolution spurred the Revolt in the Vendée. In China an attempt at religious revolution caused the bloodiest civil war of all time, the Taiping Rebellion. Another Chinese rebellion was the Boxer Rebellion. Ongoing examples as of 2008 include the Sri Lankan Civil War.
A revolution is generally seen as a civil war fought over issues of
ideology, over how power should be organized and distributed, not
merely over which individuals hold it. The classic example of a
revolution, and by some arguments the first is the French Revolution,
which is seen to have pitted the middle class and urban poor of France
against the aristocracy and monarchy. Some argue that revolutions are a
modern continuation of the peasant revolts of the past. Unlike peasant
revolts, however, revolutions are almost always led by members of the
educated, but disaffected, middle class who then rally the large mass
of the population to their cause. Others see ideology as merely
replacing religion as a justification and motivation for violence that
is fundamentally caused by socio-economic factors. To be successful
revolutions almost always require use of armed force and sometimes
escalate to a civil war, such as in the Chinese Civil War. In some cases, such as the French and Russian Revolutions the revolutionaries succeed in gaining power through a quick coup or localized uprising, but a civil war results from counterrevolutionary forces organizing to crush the revolution as the strong Royalist support in the South American wars of independence.
One of the most common causes of civil wars, especially in the post-Cold War world has been separatist violence. Nationalism
can be seen as similar to both a religion and an ideology as a
justification for war rather than a root cause of conflict. All modern
states attempt to hold a monopoly on internal military force. For
separatist civil wars to break out thus either the national army must
fracture along ethnic, religious, or national lines as happened in Yugoslavia; or more commonly a modern separatist conflict takes the form of asymmetrical warfare
with separatists lightly armed and disorganized, but with the support
of the local population such groups can be hard to defeat. This is the
route taken by most liberation groups in colonies, as well as forces in
areas such as Eritrea and Sri Lanka. Regional differences may be enhanced by differing economies, as in the American Civil War. National minorities are also often minorities and wars of religion may link closely into separatist conflicts.
Coups d’état, in Spanish golpes de estado,
are by definition quick blows to the top of a government that do not
result in the widespread violence of a civil war. On occasion a failed
coup, or one that is only half successful, can precipitate a civil war
between factions. These wars often quickly try to pull in larger themes
of ideology, nationalism, or religion to try to win supporters among
the general population for a conflict that in essence is an intra-elite
competition for power.
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
Communist soldiers during the Battle of Siping, Chinese Civil War, 1941
Almost every nation has minority groups, religious plurality, and ideological divisions, but not all plunge into civil war. Sociologists
have long searched for what variables trigger civil wars. In the modern
world, most civil wars occur in nations that are poor, autocratic, and
regionally divided. However, the United States was not poor at the time
of its bloody civil war.
Some models to explain the occurrence of civil wars stress the
importance of change and transition. According to one such line of
reasoning, the American Civil War was caused by the growing economic power of the North relative to the South; the Lebanese Civil War by the upsetting of the delicate demographic balance by the increase in the Shi’ite population; the English Civil War by the growing power of the middle class and merchants at the expense of the aristocracy.
Competition for resources and wealth within a society is seen as a
frequent cause for civil wars, however economic gain is rarely the
justification espoused by the participants. Marxist
historians stress economic and class factors arguing that civil wars
are caused by imperialist rulers battling each other for greater power,
and using tools such as nationalism and religion to delude people into
joining them. Also, recent evidence proved that the violence observed in civil war can come from spurious reasons.
Not only are the causes of civil wars widely studied and debated,
but their persistence is also seen as an important issue. Many civil
wars have proved especially intractable, dragging on for many decades.
One contributing factor is that civil wars often become proxy wars for outside powers that fund their partisans and thus encourage further violence.
Research related to the democratic peace theory
have studied civil wars and democracy. Research shows that the most
democratic and the most authoritarian states have few civil wars, and
intermediate regimes the most. The probability for a civil war is also
increased by political change, regardless whether toward greater
democracy or greater autocracy. Intermediate regimes continue to be the
most prone to civil war, regardless of the time since the political
change. In the long run, since intermediate regimes are less stable
than autocracies, which in turn are less stable than democracies,
durable democracy is the most probable end-point of the process of democratization[6]. The fall of Communism
and the increase in the number of democratic states were accompanied by
a sudden and dramatic decline in total warfare, interstate wars, ethnic wars, revolutionary wars, and the number of refugees and displaced persons[7].
List of civil wars
Past civil wars (alphabetical)
The following civil wars are ongoing or ended in the past decade, as of 2006. Some of them may be classified as insurrections, etc., rather than full civil wars, as they fade into the past.
Salvadoran Civil War
