EL SALVADOR
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LAND
21,400km2; 32% cropland (9% corn, 5% cotton, 7% coffee, 11% other), 26% meadows and pastures, 31% nonagricultural, 11% forested
Land boundaries: 515 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 200 nm
Coastline: 307 km
PEOPLE
Population: 4,617,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate -2.4%
Nationality: noun—Salvadoran(s); adjective—Salvadoran
Ethnic divisions: 92% mestizo; Indian and white minorities, 4% each at most
Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic, probably 97%-98%
Language: Spanish
Literacy: 50% literacy in urban areas, 30% in rural areas
Labor force: 1.7 million (est. 1982); 50% agriculture, 14% manufacturing and construction, 7% commerce, 29% public and private services; shortage of skilled labor and large pool of unskilled labor, but manpower training programs improving situation
Organized labor: 8% total labor force; 10% agricultural labor force; 7% urban labor force (1982)
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Republic of El Salvador
Type: republic
Capital: San Salvador
Political subdivisions: 14 departments
Legal system: based on Spanish law, with traces of common law; constitution adopted 1962; military coup on 15 October 1979; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; legal education at University of El Salvador; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 September
Branches: Constituent Assembly elected on 28 March 1982 (60 seats)
Government leaders: military/civilian junta composed of José Napoleón DUARTE (President), Army Col. Jaime Abdul GUTIERREZ (Vice President), José Antonio MORALES Ehrlich, Dr. Ramón AVALOS Navarrete
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: 28 March 1982 Constituent Assembly election; Constituent Assembly to write new constitution and appoint new provisional government until scheduled presidential elections in 1983
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Julio Samayoa; National Conciliation Party (PCN), Raul Molina; Democratic Action (AD), Rene Fortin Magaña; Salvadoran Popular Party (PPS), Francisco Quiftonez; Popular Orientation Party (POP), Gen. José Alberto Medrano; National Republican Alliance (ARENA), Maj. Roberto D'Aubuisson; Renovative Action Party (PAR), Ernesto Oyarbide
Voting strength: PDC 24 seats, ARENA 19 seats, PNC 14 seats, AD 2 seats, POP seats, and PPS 1 seat; ACAN-EFE Coalition (composed of ARENA, PCN, AD, POP, and PPS) controls 36 of 60 seats
Leftist revolutionary movement (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front—FMLN): armed insurgents—Unified Revolutionary Directorate (DRU; alliance of guerrilla groups), Farabundo Marti Popular Liberation Forces (FPL), Armed Forces of the National Resistance (FARN), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), Communist Party of El Salvador/Liberation Armed Forces (PCES/FAL), and Central American Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRTC); militant front organizations—Revolutionary Coordinator of Masses (CRM; alliance of front groups), Popular Revolutionary Bloc (BPR), Unified Popular Action Front (FAPU), 28 February Popular Leagues (LP-28), National Democratic Union (UDN), and Popular Liberation Movement (MLP); revolutionary coalition—Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR), coalition of CRM and Democratic Front (FD), controlled by DRU; FD consists of moderate leftist groups—Independent Movement of Professionals and Technicians of El Salvador (MIPTES), National Revolutionary Movement (MNR), and Popular Social Christian Movement (MPSC)
Extreme rightist vigilante organizations: National Democratic Organization (ORDEN), White Warriors Union (UGB), Death Squadron (EM), Mano Blanca (MANO), Organization for Liberation from Communism (OLC)
Labor organizations: Federation of Construction and Transport Workers Unions (FESINCONSTRANS), independent; Salvadoran Communal Union (UCS), peasant association; General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGS); United Confederation of Workers (CUT), leftist; Popular Democratic Unity (UPD), moderate political pressure group headed by FESINCONSTRANS, UCS, and other democratic labor organizations
Business organizations: National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), conservative; Productive Alliance (AP), moderate; National Federation of Salvadoran Small Businessmen (FENAPES), moderate
