Editing El Salvador (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of El Salvador}}<!--Conquest of Cuzcatlán/Independence/20th century subsections have many paragraphs without citations, Spanish conquest subsection has none-->

===Prehistoric===
During the [[Pleistocene]] El Salvador was inhabited by now extinct [[megafauna]] species, including the elephant-sized giant ground sloth ''[[Eremotherium]]'', the rhinoceros-like ''[[Mixotoxodon]]'', the [[gomphothere]] (elephant-relative) ''[[Cuvieronius]]'', the [[glyptodont]] ''[[Glyptotherium]]'', the llama ''[[Hemiauchenia]]'', and the horse ''[[Equus conversidens]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cisneros |first=Juan Carlos |date=2005-12-30 |title=New Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from El Salvador |url=https://www.sbpbrasil.org/revista/edicoes/8_3/cisneros.pdf |journal=Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=239–255 |doi=10.4072/rbp.2005.3.09 |issn=1519-7530}}</ref><ref>Cisneros, J.C., 2008, The fossil mammals of El Salvador: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 44, 375–380.  </ref> El Salvador has likely been occupied by humans since the [[Paleo-Indians|Paleoindian]] period, based on fluted stone points found in western El Salvador.<ref>“Las tradiciones Clovis y Cola de Pescado en Centroamérica” Anales de la Academia de Geografía e Historia de Guatemala, LXXXVII (2012): 181–212. Guatemala, 2014.</ref>

===Pre-Columbian era===
Archaeological knowledge of Pre-Columbian civilization in El Salvador is poor, due to its high population density limiting excavation, as well as volcanic eruptions blanketing potential archaeological sites. This lack of knowledge particularly affects the [[Mesoamerican chronology#Preclassic Era or Formative Period|Preclassic Period]] and earlier.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Szymański |first=Jan |date=2020-12-31 |title=Recent Research at San Isidro, El Salvador, in the Context of Southeastern Mesoamerican Archaeology |url=https://estudioslatinoamericanos.pl/index.php/estudios/article/view/342 |journal=Estudios Latinoamericanos |volume=40 |pages=5–32 |doi=10.36447/estudios2020.v40.art1 |issn=0137-3080|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A notable archaeological site in western El Salvador is [[:es:Chalchuapa#Época prehispánica|Chalchuapa]], which was first settled around 1200 BC, and became a major urban settlement on the periphery of the [[Mayan civilization|Maya civilization]] during the Preclassic Period and was heavily involved in the trading of valuable items like ceramics, obsidian, cacao and hematite. The settlement was heavily damaged around 430 AD by a volcanic eruption, after which it never regained its former prominence.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dull |first=Robert A. |date=March 2007 |title=Evidence for Forest Clearance, Agriculture, and Human-Induced Erosion in Precolumbian El Salvador |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.2007.00527.x |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=127–141 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-8306.2007.00527.x |issn=0004-5608|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Another major Pre-Columbian settlement is [[Cara Sucia (Mesoamerican site)|Cara Sucia]] in the far west of the country, which began as a small settlement around 800 BC at the beginning of the Middle Preclassic, during the [[Late Classic]] (600–900 AD), Cara Sucia emerged as a major urban settlement, before being abruptly destroyed during the 10th century.<ref>Moraga, Regina, Elisa Mencos, Philippe Costa y Sébastien Perrot-Minnot 2010 La Relación entre Cara Sucia (El Salvador) y la zona de Cotzumalguapa (Guatemala): La perspectiva desde un análisis cerámico. En XXIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2009 (editado por B. Arroyo, A. Linares y L. Paiz), pp.1180-1192. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala (versión digital).</ref>[[File:Temazcal en Joya de Cerén.jpg|thumb|[[Temazcal]] in [[Joya de Cerén]]]]

The [[Pipil people]], [[Nahuan languages|Nahua]] speaking groups migrated from [[Anahuac (Aztec)|Anahuac]] beginning around 800 AD and occupied the central and western regions of El Salvador.<ref name="Campbell1985">{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=Lyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUKKQacUsPwC&pg=PA924 |title=The Pipil Language of El Salvador |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-89925-040-3 |pages=924–925 |access-date=6 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110213911/https://books.google.com/books?id=NUKKQacUsPwC&pg=PA924 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Nahua Pipil were the last indigenous people to arrive in El Salvador.<ref name="Fowler1991">{{cite book|author=William R. Fowler, Jr.|date=6 August 1991|isbn=978-0-8493-8831-6|page=8|publisher=CRC Press|title=The Formation of Complex Society in Southeastern Mesoamerica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_nN2rNywnWcC&pg=PA8|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143138/https://books.google.com/books?id=_nN2rNywnWcC&pg=PA8#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> They called their territory ''Kuskatan'', a [[Nawat language|Nawat]] word<ref name="Cárdenas1950">{{cite book
|author=Juan Luna Cárdenas
|title=Tratado de etimologías de la lengua aztekatl: para uso de profesores y estudiantes de historias de América y de México, de ciencias naturales y ciencias sociales de las escuela secundarias, normales y preparatorias
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qspQAAAAMAAJ
|year=1950
|publisher=U. Tl. I. Aztekatl
|page=27
|access-date=6 November 2015
|archive-date=10 January 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143140/https://books.google.com/books?id=qspQAAAAMAAJ
|url-status=live
}}</ref> meaning "The Place of Precious Jewels", [[back-formation|back-formed]] into [[Classical Nahuatl]] ''Cōzcatlān'', and as ''Cuzcatlán''.<ref name="Baratta1951">{{cite book|author=María de Baratta|date=1951|page=15|publisher=Ministerio de Cultura|title=Cuzcatlán típico: ensayo sobre etnofonía de El Savator, folklore, folkwisa y folkway|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kqHYAAAAMAAJ|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143244/https://books.google.com/books?id=kqHYAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cárdenas1964">{{cite book|author=Juan Luna Cárdenas|page=47|publisher=Secretaría de Educación Pública|title=Aztequismos en el español de México|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrcuAAAAYAAJ|year=1964|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143141/https://books.google.com/books?id=RrcuAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the largest domain in Salvadoran territory up until European contact. The term ''Cuzcatleco'' is commonly used to identify someone of Salvadoran heritage, although the majority of the eastern population has an indigenous heritage of Lenca origin, as do their place names such as [[Intipucá|Intipuca]], [[Chirilagua]], and [[Lolotique]].

Most of the archaeological sites in western El Salvador such as [[Lake Güija|Lago de Guija]] and [[Joya de Cerén|Joya De Ceren]] indicate a pre-Columbian Mayan culture. [[Cihuatán|Cihuatan]] shows signs of material trade with northern Nahua culture, eastern Mayan and Lenca culture, and southern Nicaraguan and Costa Rican indigenous culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbruhns/cihuatan/welcome.html|title=Cihuatan|last=Olson Bruhns|first=Karen|website=Cihuatan: El Salvador's Ancient City|access-date=5 April 2020|archive-date=20 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220140910/http://userwww.sfsu.edu/kbruhns/cihuatan/welcome.html}}</ref> [[Tazumal]]'s smaller B1-2 structure shows a [[Talud-tablero|talud]]-[[Talud-tablero|tablero]] style of architecture that is associated with Nahua culture and corresponds with their migration history from Anahuac. In eastern El Salvador, the Lenca site of [[Quelepa]] is highlighted as a major pre-Columbian cultural centre and demonstrates links to the Mayan site of [[Copán|Copan]] in western Honduras as well as the previously mentioned sites in Chalchuapa, and Cara Sucia in western El Salvador. An investigation of the site of La Laguna in [[Usulután|Usulutan]] has also produced Copador items that link it to the Lenca-Maya trade route.

=== European arrival (1522) ===
By 1521, the indigenous population of the Mesoamerican area had been drastically reduced by the [[History of smallpox|smallpox epidemic]] that was spreading throughout the territory, although it had not yet reached pandemic levels in Cuzcatlán or the northern portion Managuara.<ref name="Peters2005">{{cite book|author=Stephanie True Peters|title=Smallpox in the New World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v0zEiM_hijsC&pg=PA13|year=2005|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-1637-1|pages=13–18|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143249/https://books.google.com/books?id=v0zEiM_hijsC&pg=PA13#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Card2007">{{cite thesis|first=Jeb J.|last=Card|title=The Ceramics of Colonial Ciudad Vieja, El Salvador: Culture Contact and Social Change in Mesoamerica| institution= Tulane University | degree= PhD |year=2007|page=99}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Explorer's Guide El Salvador: A Great Destination|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Jm7PERatwC&pg=PA36|date=4 October 2010|publisher=Countryman Press|isbn=978-1-58157-114-1|page=36|access-date=6 November 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143140/https://books.google.com/books?id=b9Jm7PERatwC&pg=PA36#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The first known visit by Spaniards to what is now Salvadoran territory was made by the admiral [[Andrés Niño]], who led an expedition to Central America. He disembarked in the [[Gulf of Fonseca]] on 31 May 1522, at [[Meanguera del Golfo|Meanguera island]], naming it Petronila,<ref name="Valdés2006">{{cite book|author=Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|title=Writing from the edge of the world: the memoirs of Darién, 1514–1527|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=shlqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Andr%C3%A9s%20Ni%C3%B1o%22%20%22Petronila%22|date=28 August 2006|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1518-4|page=164|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143256/https://books.google.com/books?id=shlqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Andr%C3%A9s%20Ni%C3%B1o%22%20%22Petronila%22|url-status=live}}</ref> and then traversed to [[Jiquilisco Bay]] on the mouth of [[Lempa River]]. The first indigenous people to have contact with the Spanish were the Lenca of eastern El Salvador.

====Conquest of Cuzcatlán and Managuara====
{{main|Spanish conquest of El Salvador}}
[[File:Pedro de Alvarado (Tomás Povedano).jpg|thumb|upright|Spanish Conquistador [[Pedro de Alvarado]]]]

In 1524, after participating in the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|conquest of the Aztec Empire]], [[Pedro de Alvarado]], his brother Gonzalo, and their men crossed the [[Paz River|Rio Paz]] southwards into Cuzcatlec territory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Pipils of El Salvador |url=https://www.teachingcentralamerica.org/pipils-el-salvador |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Teaching Central America |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon their arrival, Spaniards were disappointed to discover that the Pipil had little gold compared to what they had found in Guatemala or Mexico. The small amount of gold that was available had to be panned so that it could be obtained. Eventually, the Spaniards recognized the richness of the land's volcanic soil. Following this discovery, the Spanish crown began granting land based on the terms of the encomienda system.<ref>{{citation |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/frdcstdy/el/elsalvadorcountr00hagg/elsalvadorcountr00hagg.pdf |title=El Salvador: A Country Study |series=Area handbook |editor-last=Haggerty |editor-first=Richard A. |publisher=Federal Research Division, Library of Congress |date=1990 |pages=4–5}}</ref>

Pedro Alvarado led the first incursion to extend their dominion to the domain of Cuzcatlan in June 1524.<ref name="NicholsPool2012">{{cite book
|first1=Deborah L.
|last1=Nichols
|first2=Christopher A.
|last2=Pool
|title=The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D4zSRvPvuiMC&pg=PA94
|date=18 October 2012
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|isbn=978-0-19-539093-3
|page=94
|access-date=6 November 2015
|archive-date=10 January 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143751/https://books.google.com/books?id=D4zSRvPvuiMC&pg=PA94#v=onepage&q&f=false
|url-status=live
}}</ref> When he arrived at the borders of the kingdom, he saw that civilians had been evacuated. Cuzcatlec warriors moved to the coastal city of [[Acajutla]] and waited for Alvarado and his forces. Alvarado approached, confident that the result would be similar to what occurred in Mexico and Guatemala. He thought he would easily deal with this new indigenous force since the Mexican allies on his side and the Pipil spoke a similar language.<ref name="Pan AmericanUnion1934">{{cite book|author=Lily de Jongh Osborne|title=Index to the Bulletin of the Pan American Union|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7aobAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA182|series=1-12|volume=LXVII|year=1934|publisher=Pan American Union|page=182|chapter=El Salvador|access-date=4 January 2020|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143803/https://books.google.com/books?id=7aobAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA182#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Alvarado described the Cuzcatlec soldiers as having shields decorated with colourful exotic feathers, a vest-like armour made of three inch cotton which arrows could not penetrate, and long spears.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-12-28 |title=JUNE 8, 1524 |url=https://indigenousamericacalendar.org/2023/12/27/june-8-1524/ |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Indigenous America Calendar |language=en}}</ref> Both armies suffered many casualties, with a wounded Alvarado retreating and losing a lot of his men, especially among the Mexican Indian auxiliaries. Once his army had regrouped, Alvarado decided to head to the Cuzcatlan capital and again faced armed Cuzcatlec. Wounded, unable to fight and hiding in the cliffs, Alvarado sent his Spanish men on their horses to approach the Cuzcatlec to see if they would fear the horses, but they did not retreat, Alvarado recalls in his letters to [[Hernán Cortés]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fundar.org.sv/referencias/buscacuscatlan.pdf|title=En la Búsqueda de Cuscatlan|last=Amaroli|first=Paul|date=1986|website=FUNDAR|access-date=4 April 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731030112/http://www.fundar.org.sv/referencias/buscacuscatlan.pdf}}</ref>

The Cuzcatlec attacked again, and on this occasion stole Spanish weaponry. Alvarado retreated and sent Mexican messengers to demand that the Cuzcatlec warriors return the stolen weapons and surrender to their opponent's king. The Cuzcatlec responded with the famous response, "If you want your weapons, come get them". As days passed, Alvarado, fearing an ambush, sent more Mexican messengers to negotiate, but these messengers never came back and were presumably executed.

[[File:Tazumal 10.jpg|thumb|[[Tazumal]] (built between AD 250–1200), Maya site in [[Santa Ana Department]]]]

The Spanish efforts were firmly resisted by Pipil and their Mayan-speaking neighbours. They defeated the Spaniards and what was left of their [[Tlaxcala]]n allies, forcing them to withdraw to Guatemala. After being wounded, Alvarado abandoned the war and appointed his brother, [[Gonzalo de Alvarado]], to continue the task. Two subsequent expeditions (the first in 1525, followed by a smaller group in 1528) brought the Pipil under Spanish control, since the Pipil also were weakened by a regional epidemic of smallpox. In 1525, the conquest of Cuzcatlán was completed and the city of San Salvador was established. The Spanish faced much resistance from the Pipil and were not able to reach eastern El Salvador, the area of the Lencas.

In 1526 the Spanish founded the garrison town of [[San Miguel, El Salvador|San Miguel]] in northern Managuara—territory of the Lenca, headed by another explorer and conquistador, [[Luis de Moscoso Alvarado]], nephew of Pedro Alvarado. Oral history holds that a Maya-Lenca crown princess, Antu Silan Ulap I, organized resistance to the conquistadors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/02/19/Indigenous%20peoples_1.pdf |title=World Directory of Minorities |author=Minority Rights Group International |access-date=3 June 2016 |archive-date=21 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021203914/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2014/02/19/Indigenous%20peoples_1.pdf }}</ref> The commonwealth of the Lenca was alarmed by de Moscoso's invasion, and Antu Silan travelled from village to village, uniting all the Lenca towns in present-day El Salvador and Honduras against the Spaniards. Through surprise attacks and overwhelming numbers, they were able to drive the Spanish out of San Miguel and destroy the garrison.

For ten years the Lencas prevented the Spanish from building a permanent settlement. Then the Spanish returned with more soldiers, including about 2,000 forced conscripts from indigenous communities in Guatemala. They pursued the Lenca leaders further up into the mountains of [[Intibucá Department|Intibucá]].

Antu Silan Ulap eventually handed over control of the Lenca resistance to [[Lempira (Lenca ruler)|Lempira]] (also called Empira).<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - El Salvador : Lencas |url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/mrgi/2017/en/119087 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> Lempira was noteworthy among indigenous leaders in that he mocked the Spanish by wearing their clothes after capturing them and using their weapons captured in battle. Lempira fought in command of thousands of Lenca forces for six more years in Managuara until he was killed in battle. The remaining Lenca forces retreated into the hills. The Spanish were then able to rebuild their garrison town of San Miguel in 1537.

=== Colonial period (1525–1821) ===
[[File:Iglesia Colonial Metapan.jpg|thumb|Colonial Church of San Pedro Apóstol in [[Metapán]], built between 1736 and 1743]]
[[File:Proclama de libertad (indep. Centroamérica).jpg|thumb|A painting of the First Independence Movement celebration in San Salvador. At the centre, [[José Matías Delgado]].]]
During the colonial period, San Salvador and San Miguel were part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ({{langx|es|Reino de Guatemala}}), created in 1609 as an administrative division of [[New Spain]]. The Salvadoran territory was administered by the mayor of Sonsonate, with San Salvador being established as an ''[[Intendancy of San Salvador|intendencia]]'' in 1786.

In 1811, a combination of internal and external factors motivated Central American elites to attempt to gain independence from the Spanish Crown. The most important internal factors were the desire of local elites to control the country's affairs free of involvement from Spanish authorities, and the long-standing Creole aspiration for independence. The main external factors motivating the independence movement were the success of the [[French Revolution|French]] and [[American Revolution|American]] revolutions in the 18th century, and the weakening of the Spanish Crown's military power as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], with the resulting inability to control its colonies effectively.

In November 1811 Salvadoran priest [[José Matías Delgado]] rang the bells of Iglesia La Merced in San Salvador, calling for insurrection and launching the [[1811 Independence Movement]]. This insurrection was suppressed, and many of its leaders were arrested and served sentences in jail. Another insurrection was launched in 1814, which was also suppressed.

=== Independence (1821) ===
In 1821, in light of unrest in Guatemala, Spanish authorities capitulated and signed the [[Act of Independence of Central America]], which released all of the Captaincy General of Guatemala (comprising current territories of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica and the Mexican state of [[Chiapas]]) from Spanish rule and declared its independence. In 1821, El Salvador joined Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in a union named the [[Federal Republic of Central America]].
[[File:Vergara detalle firmaacta1821.JPG|thumb|left|[[José Matías Delgado]] signing the [[Act of Independence of Central America]], 15 September 1821]]
In early 1822, the authorities of the newly independent Central American provinces, meeting in Guatemala City, [[Central America under Mexican rule|voted to join]] the newly constituted [[First Mexican Empire]] under [[Agustín de Iturbide]]. El Salvador resisted, insisting on autonomy for the Central American countries. A Mexican military detachment marched to San Salvador and suppressed dissent, but with the fall of Iturbide on 19 March 1823, the army decamped back to Mexico. Shortly thereafter, the authorities of the provinces revoked the vote to join Mexico, deciding instead to form a [[Federation|federal union]] of the five remaining provinces (Chiapas permanently joined Mexico at this juncture) known as the [[Federal Republic of Central America]]. El Salvador declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Central America on 30 January 1841.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marure|first1=Alejandro|date=1895|title=Efemérides de los Hechos Notables Acaecidos en la República de Centro-América Desde el Año de 1821 Hasta el de 1842|trans-title=Ephemeris of the Notable Events that Occurred in the Republic of Central America from the Year 1821 to that of 1842|url=https://archive.org/details/efemeridesdeloshe00alejguat/page/n11/mode/2up|language=es|location=Central America|publisher=Tipografía Nacional|page=127|oclc=02933391|access-date=26 April 2024}}</ref> El Salvador joined Honduras and Nicaragua in 1896 to form the [[Greater Republic of Central America]], which dissolved in 1898.

[[File:Woman and girl in el salvador making bread.png|thumb|Woman and girl in El Salvador making bread, 1910]]
After the mid-19th century, the economy was based on coffee growing. As the world market for indigo withered away, the economy prospered or suffered as the world coffee price fluctuated. The enormous profits that coffee yielded as a monoculture export served as an impetus for the concentration of land into the hands of an oligarchy of just a few families.<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas P. |last=Anderson |title=Politics in Central America: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uar_iWVhSaIC |access-date=29 July 2012 |year=1988 |via=Google Books |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-275-92883-4 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143657/https://books.google.com/books?id=uar_iWVhSaIC |url-status=live }}</ref> Throughout the last half of the 19th century, a succession of presidents from the ranks of the Salvadoran oligarchy, nominally both conservative and liberal, generally agreed on the promotion of coffee as the predominant [[cash crop]], the development of infrastructure (railroads and port facilities) primarily in support of the coffee trade, the elimination of communal landholdings to facilitate further coffee production, the passage of anti-[[vagrancy]] laws to ensure that displaced ''[[Peasant|campesinos]]'' and other rural residents provided sufficient labour for the coffee ''fincas'' (plantations), and the suppression of rural discontent. In 1912, the national guard was created as a rural police force.

===20th century===
[[File:Tomas Regalado1.jpg|thumb|upright|Gen. [[Tomás Regalado (Salvadoran politician)|Tomás Regalado]]]]

In 1898, General [[Tomás Regalado (Salvadoran politician)|Tomas Regalado]] gained power by force, deposing [[Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez]] and ruling as president until 1903. Once in office he revived the practice of presidents designating their successors. After serving his term, he remained active in the Army of El Salvador and was killed on 11 July 1906, at El Jicaro, during a [[Totoposte Wars|war against Guatemala]]. Until 1913 El Salvador was politically stable, with undercurrents of popular discontent. When President [[Manuel Enrique Araujo]] was killed in 1913, many hypotheses were advanced for the political motive of his murder.

Manuel Enrique Araujo's administration was followed by the [[Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty]] that lasted from 1913 to 1927. [[Pío Romero Bosque]], a former minister and a trusted collaborator of the dynasty, succeeded President [[Alfonso Quiñónez Molina]], and in 1930 announced free elections, in which [[Arturo Araujo]] came to power on 1 March 1931, in what was considered the country's first freely contested election. His government lasted only nine months before it was overthrown by junior military officers who accused his [[Salvadoran Laborist Party]] of lacking political and governmental experience and of using its government offices inefficiently. Arturo Araujo faced general popular discontent, as the people had expected economic reforms and the redistribution of land. There were demonstrations in front of the National Palace from the first week of his administration. His vice president and minister of war was General [[Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]].

[[File:Hernandez Martinez.jpg|thumb|left| General [[Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]], President of El Salvador (1931–1944)|248x248px]]

In December 1931, a [[1931 Salvadoran coup d'état|coup d'état was organized]] by junior officers and led by Martínez. Only the First Regiment of Cavalry and the National Police defended the presidency (the National Police had been on its payroll), but later that night, after hours of fighting, the badly outnumbered defenders surrendered to rebel forces. The Directorate, composed of officers, hid behind a shadowy figure,<ref>{{cite book |first=Thomas P. |last=Anderson |title=Matanza: The 1932 "Slaughter" That Traumatized a Nation, Shaping US-Salvadoran Policy to This Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5xqAAAAMAAJ |access-date=29 July 2012 |year=1992 |publisher=Curbstone Press |isbn=978-1-880684-04-7 |archive-date=10 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143756/https://books.google.com/books?id=w5xqAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> a rich anti-communist banker called Rodolfo Duke, and later installed the vice-president Martínez as president. The revolt was probably caused by the army's discontent at not having been paid by President Araujo for some months. Araujo left the National Palace and unsuccessfully tried to organize forces to defeat the revolt.

The U.S. Minister in El Salvador met with the Directorate and later recognized the government of Martínez, which agreed to hold presidential elections. He resigned six months prior to running for re-election, winning back the presidency as the only candidate on the ballot. He ruled from 1935 to 1939, then from 1939 to 1943. He began a fourth term in 1944 but resigned in May after a general strike. Martínez had said he was going to respect the constitution, which stipulated he could not be re-elected, but he refused to keep his promise.

==== La Matanza ====
{{Main|La Matanza}}
Beginning in January 1932, there was brutal suppression of a rural revolt known as [[La Matanza]]. In the unstable political climate of the previous few years, social activist and revolutionary leader [[Farabundo Martí]] helped found the Communist Party of Central America, and led a communist alternative to the Red Cross, called "[[International Red Aid]]", serving as one of its representatives. Their goal was to help poor and underprivileged Salvadorans through the use of [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] ideology. In December 1930, at the height of the country's economic and social depression, Martí was once again exiled because of his popularity among the nation's poor and rumours of his upcoming nomination for president the following year. Once Araujo was elected president in 1931, Martí returned to El Salvador and, along with Alfonso Luna and Mario Zapata, began the movement that was later truncated by the military.

[[File:José Napoleón Duarte 1987b.jpg|thumb|[[José Napoleón Duarte]]]]

On 22 January 1932, thousands of poorly armed peasants in the western part of El Salvador revolted against 
the government and Martínez.
The rebellion occurred amid widespread unrest over suppression of democratic political freedoms following the cancellation of the results of the&nbsp;1932 legislative election. The rebels were led by&nbsp;[[Feliciano Ama]]&nbsp;and&nbsp;[[Farabundo Martí]] and were largely composed of indigenous people and communists. The rebellion made gains initially, capturing several towns and cities across the western&nbsp;part of the country, killing an estimated 2,000 people. The government suppressed the rebellion brutally, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people, mostly, [[Pipil people|Pipil]] peasants. Many of the rebellion's leaders, including Ama and Martí, were&nbsp;captured and executed.<ref name=Ching>{{cite journal|last=Ching|first=Erik|title=In Search of the Party: The Communist Party, the Comintern, and the Peasant Rebellion of 1932 in El Salvador|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/615B58195201C855F08807DB851AB74B/S0003161500027553a.pdf/in-search-of-the-party-the-communist-party-the-comintern-and-the-peasant-rebellion-of-1932-in-el-salvador-.pdf|date=October 1998|journal=The Americas|volume=55|issue=2|pages=204–239|publisher=[[Furman University]]|location=[[Greenville, South Carolina]]|access-date=7 January 2022|doi=10.2307/1008053|jstor=1008053|doi-access=free|archive-date=2 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102075904/https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/615B58195201C855F08807DB851AB74B/S0003161500027553a.pdf/in-search-of-the-party-the-communist-party-the-comintern-and-the-peasant-rebellion-of-1932-in-el-salvador-.pdf|url-status=live| issn=0003-1615}}</ref><ref name=Lindo-Fuentes>{{cite book|last1=Lindo-Fuentes|first1=Héctor|last2=Ching|first2=Erik|last3=Lara-Martínez|first3=Rafael A.|name-list-style=amp|date=2007|title=Remembering a Massacre in El Salvador: The Insurrection of 1932, Roque Dalton, and the Politics of Historical Memory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AubqWtPHt1kC|pages=28|location=[[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]|publisher=[[University of New Mexico|University of New Mexico Press]]|isbn=978-0-8263-3604-0|access-date=15 July 2022|archive-date=10 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110143807/https://books.google.com/books?id=AubqWtPHt1kC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Beverly>{{cite journal|last1=Beverly|first1=John|date=1982|title=El Salvador|journal=Social Text|publisher=Duke University Press|issue=5|pages=55–72|doi=10.2307/466334|jstor=466334}}</ref>

Historically, the high Salvadoran population density has contributed to tensions with neighbouring [[Honduras]], as land-poor Salvadorans emigrated to less densely populated Honduras and established themselves as squatters on unused or underused land. This phenomenon was a major cause of the [[Football War|1969 Football War]] between the two countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador - Demographics |url=http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/22.htm |website=Country Studies US |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012083021/http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/22.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> As many as 130,000 Salvadorans were forcibly expelled or fled from Honduras.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador - MIGRATION |url=http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/32.htm |website=Country Studies US |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012075923/http://countrystudies.us/el-salvador/32.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)|Christian Democratic Party]] (PDC) and the [[National Coalition Party (El Salvador)|National Conciliation Party]] (PCN) were active in Salvadoran politics from 1960 until 2011, when they were disbanded by the Supreme Court because they had failed to win enough votes in the 2004 presidential election.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=El Salvador Supreme Court disbands two parties |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13251247 |work=BBC News |date=30 April 2011 |access-date=2 July 2014 |archive-date=3 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003202110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13251247 |url-status=live }}</ref> Both parties have since reconstituted. They share common ideals, but one represents the middle class and the latter the interests of the Salvadoran military.

PDC leader [[José Napoleón Duarte]] was the mayor of San Salvador from 1964 to 1970, winning three elections during the regime of PCN president, [[Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo]], who allowed free elections for mayors and the National Assembly. Duarte later ran for president with a political grouping called the [[National Opposition Union (El Salvador)|National Opposition Union]] (UNO) but was defeated in the 1972 presidential elections. He lost to the ex-minister of interior, Colonel [[Arturo Armando Molina]], in an election that was widely viewed as fraudulent; Molina was declared the winner even though Duarte was said to have received a majority of the votes. Duarte, at some army officers' requests, supported a revolt to protest the election fraud, but was captured, tortured and later exiled. Duarte returned to the country in 1979 to enter politics after working on projects in Venezuela as an engineer.

=== Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992) ===
{{Further|Salvadoran Civil War}}
[[File:32-0032 Monumento a la Memoria y la Verdad.jpg|thumb|A monument carved in black marble which contains the names of thousands of victims of [[List of massacres in El Salvador|massacres]] that occurred during the civil war]]
[[Carlos Humberto Romero]] was the final president of the [[Military dictatorship in El Salvador|country's military dictatorship which began in 1931]]. The U.S. had been Romero's biggest supporter, but by October 1979, the Carter administration decided that El Salvador needed [[United States involvement in regime change|regime change]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Continuity and Change in U.S. Foreign Policy: Carter and Reagan on El Salvador|last=Pastor|first=Robert|journal=Journal of Policy Analysis and Management|volume=3|issue=2|pages=170–190|date=1984|publisher=Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management|jstor=3323931|doi=10.1002/pam.4050030202}}</ref>

On 15 October 1979, a [[1979 Salvadoran coup d'état|coup d'état]] brought the [[Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador|Revolutionary Government Junta]] (JRG) to power. It nationalized many private companies and took over much privately owned land. The purpose of this new junta was to stop the revolutionary movement already underway in response to Duarte's stolen election. Nevertheless, the oligarchy opposed [[agrarian reform]], and a junta formed with young reformist elements from the army such as Colonels [[Adolfo Arnoldo Majano]] and [[Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Román Mayorga asume embajada en Venezuela |url=http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6351&idArt=4199885 |website=elsalvador.com |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811214354/http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=6351&idArt=4199885 |archive-date=11 August 2014 |date=29 October 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chronology of the Civil War in El Salvador |url=http://kellogg.nd.edu/romero/Salvador.htm |website=Kellogg Institute for International Studies |publisher=University of Notre Dame |access-date=17 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408194257/http://kellogg.nd.edu/romero/Salvador.htm |archive-date=8 April 2017 }}</ref> as well as with progressives such as [[Guillermo Ungo]] and Alvarez.

[[File: O.Romero 1979 autographed photo.jpg|thumb|left|[[Archbishop Romero]] spoke out against social injustice and violence amid the escalating conflict between the military government and left-wing insurgents that led to the Salvadoran Civil War.]]

Pressure from the oligarchy soon dissolved the junta because of its inability to control the army in its repression of the people fighting for unionization rights, agrarian reform, better wages, accessible health care and freedom of expression. In the meantime, the guerrilla movement was spreading to all sectors of Salvadoran society. Middle and high school students were organized in MERS (Movimiento Estudiantil Revolucionario de Secundaria, Revolutionary Movement of Secondary Students); college students were involved with AGEUS (Asociacion de Estudiantes Universitarios Salvadorenos; Association of Salvadoran College Students); and workers were organized in BPR (Bloque Popular Revolucionario, Popular Revolutionary Block). In October 1980, several other major guerrilla groups of the Salvadoran left had formed the [[Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front]], or FMLN. By the end of the 1970s, government-contracted death squads were killing about 10 people each day. Meanwhile, the FMLN had 6,000 to 8,000 active guerrillas and hundreds of thousands of part-time militia, supporters, and sympathizers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mason |first=T.D. |author2=D.A. Krane |title=The Political Economy of Death Squads: Toward a Theory of the Impact of State-Sanctioned Terror |journal=International Studies Quarterly |year=1989 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=175–198 |doi=10.2307/2600536|jstor=2600536 |s2cid=36082281 |url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6698/d4568a77c41a133fbcb5da2750db91cde582.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731003053/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6698/d4568a77c41a133fbcb5da2750db91cde582.pdf |archive-date=31 July 2020 }}</ref>

The U.S. supported and financed the creation of a second junta to change the political environment and stop the spread of a leftist insurrection. Napoleón Duarte was recalled from his exile in Venezuela to head this new junta. However, a revolution was already underway and his new role as head of the junta was seen by the general population as opportunistic. He was unable to influence the outcome of the insurrection.

[[Óscar Romero]], the [[Roman Catholic]] Archbishop of San Salvador, denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by government forces. He was considered "the voice of the voiceless", but he was assassinated by a [[Death squads in El Salvador|death squad]] while saying Mass on 24 March 1980.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Golden |first1=Renny |title=Oscar Romero: Bishop of the Poor |url=http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor |website=U.S. Catholic |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=25 February 2009 |archive-date=19 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119005101/http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bishop-poor |url-status=live }}</ref> Some consider this to be the beginning of the full [[Salvadoran Civil War]], which lasted from 1980 to 1992.

An unknown number of people "disappeared" during the conflict, and the UN reports that more than 75,000 were killed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Boutros-Ghali |first1=Boutros |title=Report of the UN Truth Commission on El Salvador |url=http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/salvador/informes/truth.html |website=El Equipo Nizkor |publisher=United Nations Security Council |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=29 March 1993 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223031646/http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/salvador/informes/truth.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Salvadoran Army]]'s US-trained [[Atlácatl Battalion]] was responsible for the [[El Mozote massacre]] where more than 800 civilians were murdered, over half of them children, the [[El Calabozo massacre]], and the [[murder of UCA scholars]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Tracy |title=Notorious Salvadoran Battalion Is Disbanded: Military: U.S.-trained Atlacatl unit was famed for battle prowess but was also implicated in atrocities. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-09-mn-1714-story.html |access-date=17 March 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 December 1992 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319215642/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-09-mn-1714-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File: Protest against the Salvadoran Civil War Chicago 1989 5.jpg|thumb|Protest against US involvement in the Salvadoran Civil War in Chicago, Illinois, in March 1989]]

On 16 January 1992, the government of El Salvador, represented by president [[Alfredo Cristiani]], and the FMLN, represented by the commanders of the five guerrilla groups – [[Schafik Hándal]], [[Joaquín Villalobos]], [[Salvador Sánchez Cerén]], Francisco Jovel and [[Fermán Cienfuegos|Eduardo Sancho]], all signed peace agreements brokered by the United Nations ending the 12-year civil war. This event, held at [[Chapultepec Castle]] in Mexico, was attended by U.N. dignitaries and other representatives of the international community. After signing the armistice, the president stood and shook hands with the newly ex-guerrilla commanders, an action which was widely admired.

=== Post-war (1992–2019) ===
The [[Chapultepec Peace Accords]] mandated reductions in the size of the army, and the dissolution of the National Police, the Treasury Police, the National Guard and the Civilian Defence, a paramilitary group. A new Civil Police was to be organized. Judicial immunity for crimes committed by the armed forces ended; the government agreed to submit to the recommendations of a [[Commission on the Truth for El Salvador]] ''(Comisión de la Verdad Para El Salvador)'', which would "investigate serious acts of violence occurring since 1980, and the nature and effects of the violence, and...recommend methods of promoting national reconciliation". In 1993 the Commission delivered its findings reporting human rights violations on both sides of the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Betancur |first1=Belisario |last2=Planchart |first2=Reinaldo Figueredo |last3=Buergenthal |first3=Thomas |title=From Madness to Hope: The 12-Year War in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/ElSalvador-Report.pdf |website=United States Institute for Peace |publisher=The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=1 January 1993 |archive-date=1 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201122202/http://www.usip.org/files/file/ElSalvador-Report.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Five days later the Salvadoran legislature passed an amnesty law for all acts of violence during the period.

From 1989 until 2004, Salvadorans favoured the [[Nationalist Republican Alliance]] (ARENA), voting in ARENA presidents in every election ([[Alfredo Cristiani]], [[Armando Calderón Sol]], [[Francisco Flores Pérez]], [[Antonio Saca]]) until 2009. The unsuccessful attempts of the left-wing party to win presidential elections led to its selection of a journalist rather than a former guerrilla leader as a candidate. On 15 March 2009, [[Mauricio Funes]], a television figure, became the first president from the FMLN. He was inaugurated on 1 June 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-02-fg-el-salvador-funes2-story.html|title=El Salvador elects its first leftist president, TV host Mauricio Funes|date=2 June 2009|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=11 April 2021|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411193343/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-jun-02-fg-el-salvador-funes2-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> One focus of the Funes government has been revealing the alleged corruption from the past government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090612/nacionales/67865/ |title=Funes saca a luz corrupción en gobiernos de ARENA |publisher=Diario CoLatino |year=2009 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706065656/http://www.diariocolatino.com/es/20090612/nacionales/67865/ |archive-date=6 July 2014 }}</ref>
[[File: XXIV Conmemoración de los Acuerdos de Paz. (23793774503).jpg|thumb|The signatories of the Peace Agreements. on its XXIV anniversary; The agreements led to a series of transformations that marked a before and after in national history.]]
ARENA formally expelled Saca from the party in December 2009. With 12 loyalists in the National Assembly, Saca established his own party, the [[Grand Alliance for National Unity]] (GANA), and entered into a tactical legislative alliance with the FMLN.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} After three years in office, with Saca's GANA party providing the FMLN with a legislative majority, Funes had not taken action to either investigate or to bring corrupt former officials to justice.

Economic reforms since the early 1990s brought major benefits in terms of improved social conditions, diversification of the export sector, and access to international financial markets at investment grade level. Crime remains a major problem for the investment climate. Early in the new millennium, El Salvador's government created the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales&nbsp;— the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN)&nbsp;— in response to climate change concerns.<ref name="cdkn.org">{{cite web |title=El Salvador builds resilience in the face of a stormy future |url=https://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb |website=Climate & Development Knowledge Network |access-date=17 March 2020 |date=24 December 2013 |archive-date=10 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110224503/https://cdkn.org/2013/12/el-salvador-builds-resilience-in-face-of-a-stormy-future/?loclang=en_gb |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2014, former FMLN guerrilla leader Cerén narrowly won the [[2014 Salvadoran presidential election|election]]. He was sworn in as president on 31 May 2014. He was the first former guerrilla to become the president of El Salvador.<ref name=bbcnews>{{cite web |title=Ex-rebel becomes El Salvador leader |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27568032 |website=BBC News |date=1 June 2014 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706185233/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27568032 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 2017, an El Salvador court ruled that former president Funes and one of his sons had illegally enriched themselves. Funes had sought asylum in Nicaragua in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Salvador court finds ex-president Funes illegally enriched himself |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-corruption-idUSKBN1DS2VP |website=Reuters |date=28 November 2017 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411191507/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-corruption-idUSKBN1DS2VP |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2018, former president Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to diverting more than US$300 million in state funds to his own businesses and third parties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Papachristou |first1=Lucy |title=Salvadoran Ex-President Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8578-salvadoran-ex-president-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison |website=www.occrp.org |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411191507/https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8578-salvadoran-ex-president-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Bukele presidency (2019–present) ===

[[File: Nayib Bukele talks at his inauguration ceremony.jpg|thumb|Nayib Bukele speaks at his inauguration ceremony.]]
On 1 June 2019, [[Nayib Bukele]] became the new president of El Salvador.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ALEMAN |first1=MARCOS |title=El Salvador's president sworn in, ending 2-party dominance |url=https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |website=AP NEWS |date=1 June 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619065325/https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was the winner of February [[2019 Salvadoran presidential election|2019 presidential election]]. He represented GANA, as he was denied participating with the newly formed Nuevas Ideas party. ARENA and the FMLN, El Salvador's two main parties, had dominated politics in El Salvador over the past three decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador election: Nayib Bukele claims presidency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |website=BBC News |date=4 February 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309112718/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a report by the [[International Crisis Group]] (ICG) 2020, the homicide rate in El Salvador had dropped by as much as 60% since Bukele became president in June 2019. The reason might{{Weasel inline|date=June 2024}} have been a "non-aggression deal" between parts of the government and the gangs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DUDLEY |first1=STEVEN |title=The El Salvador President's Informal Pact with Gangs |url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |website=InSight Crime |date=2 October 2020 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411185730/https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The party [[Nuevas Ideas]] (NI, "New Ideas"), founded by Bukele, with its ally (GANA) won around 63% of the vote in the February 2021 [[2021 Salvadoran legislative election|legislative elections]]. His party and allies won 61 seats, well over the coveted supermajority of 56 seats in the 84-seat parliament, allowing for uncontested decisions at the legislative level. The supermajority permits President Bukele's party to appoint judiciary members and pass laws with little to no opposition, for instance, to remove presidential term limits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brigida |first1=Anna-Catherine |last2=Sheridan |first2=Mary Beth |title=El Salvador's leader wins control of legislature in midterm vote; critics fear rising authoritarianism |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412030843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=centralamerica>{{cite web |last1=Dyde |first1=James |title=El Salvador Legislative Elections 2021 |url=https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |website=centralamerica |date=1 March 2021 |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413072002/https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 8 June 2021, at the initiative of President Bukele, pro-government deputies in the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]] voted [[Bitcoin Law|legislation]] to make [[bitcoin]] [[legal tender]] in the country.<ref name=btcasamblea202106>[https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 El Salvador, primer país del mundo en reconocer al Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222071910/https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 |date=22 December 2021 }}, 9 June 2021, official website of the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador]]</ref><ref name=btcelsalvador20210608>{{cite news|title=Diputados oficialistas aprueban el Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal, ¿en qué consiste?|url=https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|work=El Salvador|date=8 June 2021|access-date=9 June 2021|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018183800/https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled to allow Bukele to run for a second term in 2024, despite the fact that the constitution prohibits the president to serve two consecutive terms in office. The decision was organized by judges appointed to the court by Bukele.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 September 2021 |title=El Salvador court drops ban on presidential reelection |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=AP NEWS |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606033203/https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 February 2021, El Salvador became the first Central American country to be awarded certification for the elimination of [[malaria]] by the [[World Health Organization|WHO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador certified as malaria-free by WHO |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |website=www.who.int |language=en |access-date=23 August 2023 |archive-date=23 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823230611/https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2022, the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make [[cryptocurrency]] legal tender. Bitcoin had rapidly lost about half of its value, meaning economic difficulties and, as of May 2022, with government bonds trading at 40% of their original value, the prospect of a looming [[sovereign default]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|first=Isabella|last=Cota|title=El Salvador expected to default as bitcoin plummets|website=[[El País]]|date=10 May 2022|access-date=13 May 2022|archive-date=13 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513120812/https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however, as of April 2025, the value of bitcoin since it was declared legal tender is trading twice the price that it was when El Salvador made it legal tender. Bukele announced back in January 2022 plans to build [[Bitcoin City]] at the base of a volcano in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news |title=IMF urges El Salvador to remove bitcoin as legal tender |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |work=BBC News |date=26 January 2022 |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208190323/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2022, the Salvadoran government initiated a massive [[2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown|fight against criminal gangs]] and gang-related violence. A state of emergency was declared on 27 March and was extended on 20 July. More than 53,000 suspected gang members were arrested, precipitating the highest reported [[List of countries by incarceration rate|incarceration rate]] in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador gangs: State of emergency extended again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |work=BBC News |date=20 July 2022 |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109105219/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ending El Salvador's Cycle of Gang Violence |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109101404/https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |url-status=dead }}</ref> The crackdown has reportedly produced hundreds of deaths of detainees, with international human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] declaring it the worst abuse of human rights in the country since its civil war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-experiencing-alarming-regression-human-rights-report-2023-12-05/|title=El Salvador experiencing 'alarming regression' on human rights -report|publisher=Reuters|date=December 5, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2024}}</ref>

On 30 November 2023, the Legislative Assembly granted Bukele and Vice President Felix Ulloa a leave of absence so that they could focus on their [[2024 Salvadoran general election|2024 re-election campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=BATRES |first=Oscar |title=El Salvador's Bukele Granted Leave Of Absence For Reelection Bid |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216101457/https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was succeeded by [[Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara]] as acting president, the first female president in Salvadoran history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|title=Asamblea Otorga Permiso a Bukele para que Realice Campaña|trans-title=Assembly Grants Bukele Permission to Realize His Campaign|language=es|date=30 November 2023|access-date=30 November 2023|work=[[La Prensa Gráfica]]|first1=Gabriel|last1=Campos Madrid|archive-date=1 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201233327/https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2024, it was announced that homicide rate dropped nearly 70% year over year, with 154 in 2023 compared to 495 homicides in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Drastic drop in murders caused the popularity of El Salvador's president to soar {{!}} Semafor |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/01/04/2024/drastic-drop-in-murders-caused-the-popularity-of-el-salvadors-president-to-soar |work=www.semafor.com |date=4 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref> On 4 February 2024, Bukele won re-election with 83% of the vote in [[2024 Salvadoran general election|general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador: Bukele confirmed as president after final count – DW – 02/10/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215090601/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |url-status=live }}</ref> His party Nuevas Ideas won 58 of the parliament's 60 seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador votes must be recounted, says electoral court – DW – 02/06/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221174137/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 1 June 2024, he was sworn in for his second five-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador's 'all-powerful' gang-busting President Bukele sworn in for second term |url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240601-el-salvador-s-all-powerful-gang-busting-president-bukele-sworn-in-for-second-term |work=France 24 |date=1 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In February 2025, El Salvador’s Congress agreed to remove Bitcoin's legal tender status, following pressure from the [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dig.watch/updates/bitcoin-is-no-longer-legal-tender-in-el-salvador|title=Bitcoin is no longer legal tender in El Salvador |date=7 February 2025|website=Digital Watch Observatory}}</ref>