El Salvador

Despite the remarkable political and economic progress that El Salvador has made since the end of its civil war in 1992, many citizens still hold their democratic institutions in low regard. The International Republican Institute’s programs address this confidence gap by using public opinion research, constituent outreach development and town hall meetings, to help El Salvador’s political parties and members of the national assembly create more substantive, issue-based policies and platforms that respond to public demands.

Strengthening Consensus and Promoting Electoral Transparency

IRI reaches out to all political parties to build a common consensus on the challenges facing El Salvador, develop mechanisms to address the highly polarized and negative political environment, educate voters about key social issues, and work to bridge the confidence gap between the public and political parties.

Ahead of El Salvador’s presidential and legislative elections in 2009, IRI is using polling and focus groups to determine which areas hold the most promise for achieving legislative and bipartisan consensus. Consistent with the program’s focus on reducing political polarization, IRI is working to create a climate conducive to open dialogue between the public and all political parties to forge a consensus on El Salvador’s most pressing issues.

A comprehensive voter education and outreach campaign organized by IRI and spearheaded by local civil society organization, Democracy and Development (D&D), is encouraging public participation, especially amongst young voters, and shifting the debate away from the partisan divisions and the polarization afflicting El Salvador’s political life.

Activities in this voter education campaign include an international speaker forum series where foreign experts are invited to El Salvador to discuss how particular issues were analyzed in their country and ultimately addressed through policy; rallies that promote democratic values, citizen participation, and civil discourse; and a comprehensive publicity campaign.

National Assembly

IRI has been working directly with members of El Salvador’s national assembly to improve their constituent outreach methods.

In July 2008 a multi-partisan delegation of national assembly members participated in a study tour funded by the Institute for Representative Government. The delegation traveled to Washington, DC and Los Angeles, California where the members gained first-hand experience in the constituent outreach methods of the U.S. congress and political parties at the federal, state and local level.

The assembly members also had the opportunity to study U.S. policy responses to the issue of gangs, violence and narco-trafficking – transnational issues which have an impact in both the U.S. and El Salvador.

El Salvador, like its neighboring countries in Central America, suffered a brutal civil war during the 1980s that was fueled by Cold War tensions and its people’s own longstanding social and political grievances.

During the 50 years leading up to El Salvador’s civil war, the country was ruled by a series of military dictatorships. In 1980, a guerrilla movement calling itself the Marti National Liberation Front took up arms against the government, beginning a long war in which the civilian population suffered heavily. More than 75,000 Salvadorans lost their lives before the war ended in 1992.

Since the signing of United Nation’s brokered peace accords in 1992, El Salvador has made important progress. The country has held four peaceful presidential elections that met international standards of transparency and fairness. Civilian governments have advanced national reconciliation, consolidated their democratic system and addressed vexing social issues such as poverty and corruption. The military has returned to the barracks and no longer interfere in politics.

El Salvador’s economy is the strongest in Central America. Since the 1990s four consecutive presidents have implemented liberalizing economic reforms of El Salvador’s international trade regime; privatized their pension systems and other large industries including telecommunications and energy distribution; and in 2001 integrated their currency with the dollar, which led to falling interest rates and increased investor confidence.

In 2004 El Salvador was the first country in Central America to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the Dominican Republic. In the 15 years since the end of the war, governments have succeeded in reducing poverty in half, from 60 to 30 percent nationwide. A central challenge for the government will be extending these gains to large sectors of the population who have still not been able to share in El Salvador’s economic growth. Despite the progress that has been made, significant challenges remain. Crime, social inequality, high unemployment and public dissatisfaction with government institutions pose significant challenges to El Salvador’s long-term democratic governance.

In 2009, El Salvador will hold elections for its next President, National Assembly, and municipal governments, the first time since 1994 that each of these posts is being contested in the same year.

Political Overview

Head of State: President Elías Antonio Saca González

Type of Government: republic

Suffrage: universal, age 18

Elections Calendar

Program Overview

Focus of Program: strengthening transparency and consensus, promoting electoral transparency

Funding Source: United States Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy