Page 77 - 50.La Biennale di Venezia issue of World of Art Magazine

THE TERROR

PROJECT

IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE THE HORSES’ HOOFPRINTS, YOU’VE
GOT TO BE THE HOOVES

IMPERIALISM: A DEVASTATING ENTERPRISE
EL SALVADOR by Marlie BURTON-ROCHE

The electoral route was pursued by the political opposition assassinated by the army, the security forces, and the death
when the Christian Democrats, social democrats, and a legal squads in 1980 and 1981, including Archbishop Monseñor Oscar
branch of the outlawed Communist party, created a coalition, Romero. Many peasants, workers, students, and professionals
the National Opposition Union UNO and ran in both the 1972 who had incorporated into the struggle and who did not go
and 1977 presidential elections. But blatant election fraud into exile, joined the people’s army. The insurgency units grew
in both elections and the repression that followed, driving into an impressive force. The FMLN created zones of control
leaders of the coalition into exile, ended all possibility of in the mountains in the northern and eastern provinces of
peaceful change. However, the electoral process of organizing, the country. Here they gained the support of a well-organized
campaigning, and running in those elections experientially and very motivated campasino population, as these were the
advanced the radicalization of broad sectors of the population. areas where the people’s ancestors had had to toil in a state
Thousands of peasants, workers, and increasing numbers of of feudal bondage on coffee, cotton, and sugar plantations.
the middle class, especially the youth, turned to revolutionary These peasants were also relatives or direct descendents of
alternatives as they saw their expectations for peaceful change the victims of the 1932 genocide. The FMLN became their army
terminated by the state. By impeding all peaceful means and their only hope for a future of peace with justice. While
of democratization and by outrageous persecution of the the FMLN was a fighting force, much of the daily work of the
opposition, the government and state military of El Salvador combatants involved helping the rural populations organize
adduced the armed revolution of the 1980s. themselves into functioning communities and facilitating the
development of popular schools, basic medical clinics, and
A military coup in 1979 brought an end to Romero’s repressive communal agricultural practices.
regime and the U.S. government policy makers took advantage
of the turmoil to advance their own interventionist agenda of The FMLN combated a deluge of campaigns by the Salvadoran
converting El Salvador into a counterinsurgency-militarized state military. These were massive ‘scorched earth’ campaigns that
to defeat the pending revolution. Their procedure was to install contrived to decimate the capacity for sustenance. Crops,
a centralist-reformist model of government in El Salvador. The domesticated animals, and water sources were destroyed in
U.S. goal was never aimed towards implementation of any real the zones of conflict, in an attempt to “drain the water” (the
change, either politically or socially, but to maintaining the population) and “catch the fish” (the guerrilla) as advocated
oligarchic system. Napoleón Duarte became the president-of- in standard counterinsurgency manuals.
choice of the U.S. government. But in order to gain power, Duarte
had to enter into collusion with the established coalition of the Thousands upon thousands of refugees poured into neighbouring
Salvadoran military and the United States government, and by so countries in Central America. Many found their way to Mexico,
doing, he lost the support of the Christian Democrat’s traditional the United States, and Canada. But the revolutionary armed
base, the popular democratic movement. Simultaneously, as forces continued to operate and began to “liberate” the zones
a centralist-reformist, he engendered hatred and distrust in of control by attacking and effectively disassembling many of
the far right. For the duration of the next decade Duarte’s the government’s immobile locations.
government in El Salvador was nothing more than a simulacrum
of democracy, a front for the U.S. counterinsurgency project In 1984 the democratic-revolutionary forces began to receive
of ‘low intensity conflict’. some international recognition as they secured more and more
control in the countryside and, even though they were still not
The Farabúndo Martí Front for National Liberation FMLN was an effective political presence in the cities, the governments
founded in October of 1980 as a coalition of five factions: FPL/ of Mexico and France officially recognized the FDR-FMLN
ERP/FARN/PRTC/PCS. A month later, in November, the entire alliance as a politically representative body. At the same
command of the Democratic Revolutionary Front FDR, the time, the United Nations and the Movement of Non-Aligned
revolutionary political wing, was arrested and assassinated Countries denounced the gross violations of human rights
in San Salvador. The, by now, extensive revolutionary mass being perpetrated by the government forces and urged both
movement was decollated and untold numbers of the membership the FDR-FMLN and the government of El Salvador to consider
were forced into exile. An estimated 50,000 people were a negotiated political solution for the conflict.
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