El Salvador: The Military and Politics

Abstract

Does the conflict in El Salvador, conceptualized by the U.S. government as a battle in the cold war, become more amenable to solution if seen strictly on its own terms? The current struggle seems most intelligible as the latest episode in the post-Conquest struggle of a Spanish-descended elite to maintain control of its land against threat from an Indiandescended peasantry. The military and paramilitary conduct of the struggle has alienated the noninvolved civilian population from the government without drawing them to the guerrilla cause. Since neither side can win militarily under present circumstances, a negotiated settlement may be attainable.