1. To learn about the revolution in El Salvador in the 1980s and the nature of Central American revolutions that plagued the region in the 20th century.
2. To investigate some of the problems affecting Latin American countries.
3. To learn about the role of the United States in Central American nations.
4. To understand the changing role of the Catholic Church in movements for social justice in nations in conflict.

The problems in El Salvador that led to the eruption of Civil War in the 1980s reflect the economic and social troubles that have plagued Latin American nations. These include dependency on a single crop (coffee for El Salvador), a concentration of land and wealth in the hands of a few along with extreme exploitation of the peasantry who fall victim to vicious attacks by the government that include torture and death if the peasantry attempts to protest their condition. In the 1970s, these difficulties mounted, and the population outgrew the food supply. After a fraudulent election in 1977, the country stood poised for war.

The Catholic Church traditionally had aligned itself with the elite classes in Latin America. This position changed in the 1960s following the Second Vatican Council (1962) and the Medellin Bishops' Conference (1968). The Church went from supporting the military regimes and oligarchy to "the preferential option for the poor." The Church helped to form grassroots communities, or communidades de base, that mixed Biblical studies with discussions of economic and social concerns. These organizations empowered the population to resist their condition, and it made the priests the targets of right-wing death squads and security forces. In El Salvador, seven priests were killed between 1977 and 1979.

Three weeks after Oscar Arnulfo Romero was installed as archbishop in 1977, the murder of Father Rutilio Grande moved Romero to speak out against human rights violations and to work for social justice. His sermons on the radio reached the countryside and moved the population to action while simultaneously making him a target of the military. As the number of desaparecidos (disappeared) increased, and killings averaged 1000 per month, Romero embraced revolting against the government. On February 2, 1980, he proclaimed, "When all peaceful means have been exhausted, the church considers insurrection moral and justified." On March 24, 1980, as he celebrated mass in San Salvador, he was killed by a single bullet. Romero's death escalated the civil war in El Salvador. He correctly stated before his death, "If I am killed, I shall rise again in the struggle of the Salvadoran people."

Throughout the civil war, the United States played a key role by supplying the oppressive regimes with military and economic aid. After the brutal murders of four American Catholic women, three of whom were nuns, public opinion in the United States began to change. However, between 1981 and 1987, the military and economic aid to El Salvador from the U.S. totaled $2.7 billion.

The United Nations sponsored peace negotiations in 1990 that led to an agreement between the government and its opposition led by the FMLN, or the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. The negotiations led to legislative and municipal elections in 1991. The question remained as to whether peace would last.

1. Students can research El Salvador and learn more about its history and the underlying causes of the revolution. Also, have students research what has occurred following the United Nations agreement.
2. Students can research the geography of Central America and Latin America. What features do the nations have in common? Students can also create maps of the region noting prominent geographical features, cities, and population. Have students consider how such factors may have contributed to the unrest in the nation.
3. Have students examine the role of the United States in Central America. How did the Cold War influence U.S. policy? What is the School of the Americas? How have different U.S. presidents approached this region of the world?
4. Students can explore the issue of human rights. How does this issue affect Central America and other parts of the world? How has the U.S. responded to reports of human rights abuses? Have students discuss the way we as a nation should respond.

• Adams, Jerome. Latin American Heroes (1991).
• Anderson, T.P. The War of the Dispossessed: Honduras and El Salvador (1981).
• Brockman, James R. The Word Remains, A Life of Oscar Romero (1982).
• Burns, E. Bradford. Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History
• Keen, Benjamin. A History of Latin America (1992).
• La Feber, Walter. Inevitable Revolutions: The United States in Central America (1993).
• Skidmore, Thomas E. and Peter H. Smith. Modern Latin America (1997).
• Williamson, Edwin. The Penguin History of Latin America (1992).