Arcatao During the War
Carlota remembers the challenging economic conditions that inhabitants of Arcatao experienced during the war.
Chapter 2: Rural Organizing & Repression
The 1970s saw escalating tensions and growing violence in El Salvador. Military regimes ruled throughout the decade, engineering fraudulent elections to deny civilian Napoleon Duarte the presidency in 1972 and joining briefly with civilian leaders in a 1979 coup, which failed to avert the descent into war. Throughout the decade, many poor people began to organize in religious study groups, supported by sectors of the Catholic Church that emphasized the Bible’s message of social justice. Rural workers joined unions that sought to improve wages and working conditions. These political and social movements were met with violence by the Salvadoran military, the National Guard, and government-supported paramilitaries; indeed, for many residents of rural Chalatenango, brutal repression by state forces began long before 1980, the date from which most historians mark the start of the civil war. Yet a number of events made it clear in 1980 that the country had erupted in all-out war: first, the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, a vocal advocate for human rights and the poor, marked a clear turning point in the conflict. Second, as violence by government forces intensified from selective killings to indiscriminate massacres, left-wing political activists increasingly turned to armed revolution; in October 1980, the largest guerrilla organizations merged as the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). In this chapter, residents reflect on organizing for change within their communities and the increasingly violent response it received.
Detained by the Army
Nelson explains he was arrested for disobeying orders by the army to participate in paramilitary patrols.
Early Political Participation
Alberto describes his early days of political participation as a student and explains how the National Guard used blacklists as repression intensified.
El Rincón Massacre
Isidora describes the massacre of six women at El Rincón.
Fleeing Repression
Patricia describes the difficulty of deciding to leave their homes for the first time to avoid repression and violence after her husband and brother had been detained.
Injured As A Child During Attack
Anibal describes an attack on his family in which his father and sister killed, and he and his mother were wounded.
Interrogation by the National Guard
Eduardo recounts his experience of being interrogated by the National Guard about his relation to Facundo Guardado, a famous guerrilla commander with the FPL and FMLN, and his release after a few hours.
Joining the Rural Workers Union
Pedro remembers when he joined the UTC (Rural Workers’ Union), which would have secret meetings so as to avoid repression.
Massacre of El Rincón
Emeteria describes the brutal massacre of six women in the town of El Rincón on May 8, 1980.
Organizing & Repression
Víctor remembers a few iconic moments of his political involvement prior to the armed conflict: the 1975 student massacre, his participation in the UTC, and his experience of detainment and torture by the National Guard in 1976.
Organizing, Repression & Exhumations
Lucía remembers early experiences as a girl attending political meetings with her parents, and the killing of her mother and others; and reflects on exhumation process.
Rural Organizing
Santiago lists some of the rural political organizations which were present in Chalatenango.