Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The year 1960 was a pivotal one for Central America. In Nicaragua, President Luis Somoza Debayle declared a state of siege. Military officers revolted in Guatemala. A new junta promising free elections briefly held power in El Salvador but was overthrown by a right-wing coup. And the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras agreed to form the Central American Common Market (CACM).The last event may seem the most prosaic, but in many ways it was the most indicative of problems that would explode into bloody warfare in the 1970s and 1980s. The CACM was an attempt to increase trade by linking the region's thin markets, comprising the tiny group of elites with spending power. Central American leaders preferred to seek new consumers in neighboring countries rather than carry out programs to help their impoverished majorities.Families who made their fortunes in agricultural exports, primarily production of coffee and sugar, starting in the nineteenth century, dominated Central America. They invested little in manufacturing, preferring to import goods. Their workers, therefore, were never viewed as consumers, needing at least enough money to buy the products their bosses manufactured. They were seen only as a cost, and owners sought to keep costs to a minimum. Much of the population worked for the big landowners at meager wages or eked out a living on insufficient ... log in or subscribe to read full text