El Salvador: Political System
Political system
According to DISEASESLEARNING.COM, El Salvador has been a presidential republic since 1983. The highest representative of the country is the president, who is in office for 5 years and is directly elected. The main body of the legislature is the National Assembly, which is composed of 84 members who are elected every 3 years by general elections. The right-wing conservative party “Alianza Republicana Nacionalista de El Salvador” (ARENA) and the left-wing former guerrillas “Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional” (FFMLN) are currently represented in parliament. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about El Salvador politics, and acronyms as well.
Politically and economically, El Salvador is very dependent on the USA.
The official name of the country is:
| República de El Salvador |
National flag
The national flag (national flag) symbolizes, among other things, certain historical developments or special characteristics of your country. It is used to identify the origin, e.g. of a ship. Flags, field symbols, flags or coats of arms have always had a high symbolic value. Soldiers are called to the flag, an ensign wore a flag or a standard earlier in battle to orient the soldiers of the unit. Today every country has its own national flag, which is often supplemented by numerous other flags inside.
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, El Salvador’s flag shows the colors blue, white and a second time blue. These colors symbolize sky, peace and ocean.
In the center of the flag is the country’s coat of arms.
There is a triangle in the middle, in which five volcanoes protruding from the ocean can be seen. They are intended to symbolically represent the five member states of the Central American Federation. The red Phrygian cap on a pole over the volcanoes stands before a golden sun. The date of Salvadoran independence is also recorded here, September 15, 1821. Above everything is the rainbow.
Five flags protrude from behind the coat of arms. On the banner underneath is the motto of the country: “Dios, Unión, Libertad”, i.e. “God, unity, freedom”. The entire coat of arms is framed by a laurel wreath which, with its fourteen parts, should reflect the 14 departments (= administrative units of the country). On the banner, which finally wraps the coat of arms, is written: “República de el Salvador en la América Central”. The English translation of this is: “Republic of El Salvador (the Redeemer) in Central America.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in El Salvador.
National anthem
The national anthem of El Salvador is called Saludemos la Patria orgullosos, which translated into German means: “Let us greet the fatherland with pride. The anthem of the small Central American country comes from the pen of Juan José Cañas. It was composed by Juan Aberle. The piece was played for the first time on September 15, 1879. It has been El Salvador’s national anthem since November 13, 1953.
| ChoirSaludemos la patria orgullosos
De hijos suyos podernos llamar; Y juremos la vida animosos, Sin descanso a su bien consagrar.First stanza De la paz de la dicha suprema, Siempre noble soñó El Salvador; Fue obtenerla su eterno problema, Conservarla es su gloria mayor. Y con fe inquebrantable el camino Del progreso se afana en seguir, Por llenar su grandioso destino Conquistarse un felíz porvenir. La protege una férrea barrera Contra el choque de ruín deslealtad, Desde el día en que su alta bandera Con su sangre escribió: ¡LIBERTAD!Second stanza Libertad es su dogma, es su guía Que mil veces veces logró defender; y otras tantas, de audaz tiranía Rechazar el odioso poder. Dolorosa y sangrienta es su Historia Pero excelsa y brillante a la vez; Manantial de legítima gloria, Gran lección de espartana altivez. No desmaya en su innata bravura En cada hombre hay un héroe inmortal Que sabrá mantenerse a la altura De su antiguo valor proverbial.Third stanza Todos son entsegados, y fell Al prestigio del bélico ardor Con que siempre segaron laureles De la patria salvando el honor. Respetar los derechos extraños Dedicando su esfuerzo tenaz, en hacer cruda guerra a la guerra: Su ventura se encuentra en la paz. Y en seguir esta línea se aferra apoyarse en la recta razón para ella, sin torpes amaños Su invariable, más firme ambición.English translation Let us greet the fatherland with pride that we can call ourselves its children; And let us boldly swear to dedicate our lives to his good without rest.First stanza El Salvador has always had a noble dream of peace and the greatest happiness ; To get it was his eternal problem; to get it is his greatest glory. With unshakable faith, it strives to follow the path of progress in order to fulfill its great destiny, to find a happy future for itself. A solid wall has protected it from the death knell of infidelity since the day its great flag wrote in its blood: FREEDOM! Freedom is its dogma and motto that it could defend a thousand times; and just as often by denying tyranny its hated power. His story, painful and bloody, is at the same time sublime and radiant; A source of righteous fame, a great lesson in Spartan pride. His innate courage does not diminish, in every man there is an immortal hero who will be able to achieve his old proverbial courage. All are self-sacrificing and believe in the glory of the warlike zeal with which they have always won the laurel to save the honor of the fatherland. It respects the rights of others and stubbornly directs its forces towards warfare: it finds its happiness in peace. And it insists on following this line based on reason to which it devotes its unchanging and steadfast ambition without clumsy schemes |
El Salvador: Known People
writer
Manlio Argueta (born 1935)
The Salvadoran writer and critic is best known in the English-speaking world for his book “One Day of Life”.
José Roberto Cea (born 1939)
The contemporary Romanist and poet has won numerous (inter) national prizes for his literature. These include the Premio Internacional de Poesía del Círculo de Poetas y Escritores Iberoamericanos de Nueva York (1965) and the Primer premio en los juegos florales agostinos de San Salvador in 1998.
Roque Dalton García (1935-1975)
The left-wing poet and journalist was one of Latin America’s most important poets. He wrote very emotionally and dealt with the subjects of life, death, love and politics.
Alfredo Espino (1900-1928)
The Salvadoran poet, who died young, wrote only one work: “Jícaras Tristes”. This contains 96 poems. It is one of El Salvador’s most published books.
Francisco Gavidia (1863-1955)
This writer and journalist was the initiator of the Salvadoran short story
Claudia Lars (1899-1974)
The poet, born Carmen Brannon Vega in 1899, was the daughter of Peter Patrick Brannon and Carmen Vega Zelayandía. In the course of her life she wrote 14 books and her memoirs.
Pedro Geoffroy Rivas (born 1908)
This remarkable anthropologist and linguist was distinguished by a rebellious, individualistic language that was almost anarchist. His work was strongly influenced by the Chilean writer Pablo Neruda.
Salarrué, Salvador Efraín Salazar Arrué (1899-1975)
Salarrué was a Salvadoran writer, poet, and painter.
Consuelo Suncin Sandoval de Gómez or Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry (1901-1979)
This painter, sculptor and author was born in El Salvador. She was an inspiring figure in the Parisian art scene in the 1920s and the muse of the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) who became world-famous for his “The Little Prince”. She had married him in her third marriage.
Politician
Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga (1787-1847)
Fagoaga was between 1825 and 1829 the president of the “Confederación de Centroamérica”, the “Federal Republic of Central America”.
Anastasio Mártir Aquino (1792-1833)
the Salvadoran indigenous leader led the uprising of the Nonualcos, an uprising at the time when El Salvador was still part of the Federal Republic of Central America.
Roberto D’Aubuisson Arrieta (1944-1992)
This military man and politician, known as “Chele”, founded the Nationalist-Republican Alliance (ARENA), which he also headed from 1980 to 1985. He was also the leader and main organizer of the infamous El Salvador death squad, one of the most brutal terrorist organizations in Latin America’s recent history. This organization was responsible for the killing and torture of thousands of civilians in El Salvador. His political opponents referred to him as “Blowtorch Bob” or “The Blowtorch” because he liked to torture politicians with a blowtorch.
José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes (1925-1990)
This political figure from El Salvador headed the civil-military revolution junta from 1980 to 1982, which was given power by a coup in 1979. He also served as Salvadoran President from 1984 to 1989.
Maximilliano Hernández Martínez (1882-1966)
The former President of El Salvador (1931-1944) came to power after a palace revolt. The admirer of fascist theories ruled with the strong help of the military. During his reign there was a decided suppression of the opposition. Meanwhile, he was also able to achieve economic progress for his country.
Agustín Farabundo Martí (1893-1932)
This Salvadoran revolutionary led a march of 60,000 peasants against his country’s regime in 1932. After the uprising was brutally suppressed, Martí himself was murdered by the Guardia Nacional. Martí lives on in today’s political party El Salvador s Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional.
Elías Antonio Saca González (born 1965)
Saca won the presidential elections in El Salvador on March 21, 2004. Before going into politics, he was a well-known football commentator for a long time.
Theologians
Ignacio Ellacuría, SJ (1930-1989)
This Catholic priest, Jesuit, philosopher and theologian was best known for his work as professor and rector of the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA) in San Salvador, founded in 1965 by the Jesuit order. Ellacuría and his friends Ignacio Martín-Baró and Segundo Montes were murdered by the military in El Salvador in 1989.
Ignacio Martín-Baró, SJ (1942-1989)
The social psychologist, philosopher and Jesuit was a close friend of the scholars Ignacio Ellacuría and Segundo Montes. He was murdered with them by the Salvadoran army.
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (1917-1980)
This Salvadoran Catholic archbishop and liberation theologian was shot in 1980 in the middle of a Eucharistic service at the altar of the chapel of the Carmelite Cancer Hospital. The perpetrator was a state-appointed sniper. This murder was the triggering event for the long civil war in El Salvador, which would last about 12 years. A massacre took place at Romero’s funeral, in the course of which 40 people were killed.
Segundo Montes, SJ (1933-1989)
The philosopher, sociologist and Jesuit was murdered in 1989 by the Salvadoran army together with his close friends Ignacio Martín-Baró and Ignacio Ellacuría.
Artist
Noé Canjura (1922-1970)
This Salvadoran painter was one of the most recognized artists of modern art in 20th century France.
Fernando Llort Choussy (born 1949)
This famous El Salvador artist is known for his colorful and childlike style. He is often compared to Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso.
Camilo Minero (born 1917)
One of the murals in the Rectoría of the National University in El Salvador was created by him. All aspects of Salvadoran life are dealt with in his work: poverty, joy, landscape, animals, etc. In 1996 he received the Primo nacional de la cultura for his works.
Antonio “Toño” Salazar (1897-1986)
Toño was a cartoonist, illustrator and diplomat from El Salvador.
El Salvador: animals
Mammals
Due to the constant reduction in habitats in the country, fewer and fewer larger mammals can be found here.
Large parts of the original rainforest were cleared in order to grow coffee and cotton on them, or to use the wood as firewood or construction wood.
Nevertheless, you can still find pumas, ocelots, weasel cats (jaguarundis), wrapped bears and anteaters.
Squirrels, porcupines, pakas and skunks, coat howler monkeys, nine-banded armadillos and whitebeard peccaries also live here. The largest preserved and contiguous forest of El Salvador has been located in the El Imposible National Park since 1989.
Birds
The bird life of El Salvador is particularly rich in species.
The torogoz is the national bird of El Salvador. It is just as colorful as the blue crown momotus or the hummingbird or parrot species in the country. Other birds include the white goshawk, the forest stork, the osprey, the king vulture and the great hokko.
Numerous water birds also live on the coasts
Reptiles without snakes
The American crocodile can be found in rivers, on the coast and in lakes. In addition, numerous species of lizards live here.
The black-eyed tree frog is critically endangered. The green iguana can be up to two meters long if you measure the tail. Four of the six species of sea turtles live in the sea off the coast.
the olive ridged turtle, leatherback turtle, hawksbill sea turtle and green sea turtle.
snakes
Idol snake
The idol snake (Boa constrictor) reaches sizes between 3 and 4 m and feeds on smaller and larger mammals as well as on birds and reptiles.
The prey is embraced and strangled by contracting the muscles.
The snake can be found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (Amapá, Pará, Rondonia, Bahia, Sergipe, Amazonas, Pará, Pernambuco, Federal District, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Piauí, Mato Grosso, Goiás, S Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte)
in Costa Rica, El Salvador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia (Valle del Cauca).
Also in Mexico (Yucatan, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Quéretaro, Veracruz, Puebla, Jalisco, Morelos and Hidalgo), in Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay.
The snake is now also at home in Peru (Pasco), Suriname and Venezuela (Merida, Isla Margarita), as well as in Florida/USA – where it was released.
They can also be found in Trinidad, Tobago, Martinique, Aruba and Antigua.
A detailed description of the snake can be found at Goruma here >>>
Western
Mexican moccasin snake The Mexican moccasin snake (Agkistrodon bilineatus) belongs to the family of the vipers (Viperidae), to the subfamily of the pit vipers Crotalinae and to the genus of the triangular-headed adder (Agkistrodon).
It occurs in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.
There are no subspecies of the snake species.
Guatemala Jumping Pit
Viper The Guatemala Jumping Pit Viper (Atropoides occiduus) is found in Mexico (Chiapas) and Guatemala in addition to El Salvador.
Glossy Vine Snake
The green and on the ventral side yellow-green colored gloss Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus), known in English Green Vine Snake, are found not only in El Salvador still in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil (Mato Grosso, Pará), Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Colombia, Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo or Guerrero), Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
The snake reaches a size between 1.50 to 2 m
Honduras mountain viper
The Honduras Honduras mountain viper (Cerrophidion wilsoni) in English called Honduras Montane pit viper comes.
except in El Salvador, in Honduras (Olancho) and in Nicaragua.
The snake can be found at altitudes between 1,400 and 3,500 m.
Western inverted-
nosed viper The western inverted-nosed viper (Porthidium ophryomegas) can also be found in Costa Rica, in the west of Guatemala, in Honduras, Nicaragua and in Mexico (Chiapas).
This lance viper reaches a size of about 50 to a maximum of 80 cm
Black-banded coral otter
The black- banded coral otter, also known as the Central American coral otter (Micrurus nigrocinctus), can still be found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Mexico (Oaxaca, Chiapas), Nicaragua, Panama at heights of up to about 1,600 m.
This snake reaches a size of 50 to 80 cm – rarely more.
Central American rattlesnake
The Central American rattlesnake (Crotalus simus) is found in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz), in Nicaragua and in southern Mexico.
The snake can reach a size between 140 to 160 and rarely 180 cm.
Central
American jumping lance viper The Central American jumping lance viper (Atropoides mexicanus) can be found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and in southern Mexico (Chiapas, Querétaro).
The snake reaches a size between 50 to 80 cm, rarely more.
