Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Matanza , which in Spanish simply means massacre, is the name commonly used by Salva-dorans for the peasant uprising of January 1932 in El Salvador and the slaughter of between 15,000 and 30,000 mostly Pipil Indians that followed. In March 1931, with both the oligarchy and military divided and supporting five different candidates for president, a sixth candidate, the populist Arturo Araujo, was able to win with a plurality of the vote, thereby becoming president. When he attempted to implement some modest reforms that would help peasants who were suffering from the collapse of the coffee market brought on by the Great Depression, he was overthrown in a December 2 military coup and replaced by his vice-president, General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez. Meanwhile, the Communist Party, along with discontented indigenous peasant groups and segments of the military, had been planning an uprising. The leading force behind the plot was Agustín Farabundo Martí , the secretary general of the Communist Party. January 22 was chosen as the date for the insurrection to begin. The government discovered the plot, however, and on January 19 Marti and several other leaders were arrested. The next day the government declared a state of siege and the barracks revolt that had been planned by dissident military officers was abandoned. Peasants in the western departments of Ahuachapán, Santa Ana, and ... log in or subscribe to read full text