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The Salvadoran Guerrillas and Esquipulas
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13124 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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11 / 1987 |
2,995 Words |
| Author
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Jose Z. Garcia
Jose Z. Garcia is professor of political science at New Mexico
State University. |
Of all the groups reacting initially to the unexpected signing of the peace proposals by the five Central American presidents at Esquipulas, Guatemala, on August 7, the most negative response in the region came from leaders of the Salvadoran Farabundo Marti National Liberation Army (FMLN), who stated that they would not adhere to any agreements made in settings in which they did not participate directly.
Since the military fortunes of the guerrillas in El Salvador have been in sharp decline during the past three years, this position might seem surprising at first glance. But the reasons for this recalcitrance over the peace proposals are complex and lie in the peculiar relationships that have developed between the guerrillas and the Salvadoran economy, sectors of the Salvadoran labor movement, and the Nicaraguan government. These relationships, in turn, reveal much about the overall nature of the political system in El Salvador today, and they are unlikely to be affected by the forthcoming presidential elections in the United States.
Guerrilla strength is down from more than 11,000 combatants in 1984 to less than 6,500 today. The area under FMLN control has been reduced during the past two years from around one-third of the national territory to around 12 percent. Beginning in 1985, a small trickle of defectors began to surrender to government forces, complaining of hunger and poor morale. Guerrilla units began to avoid armed contact with government troops where possible.
But if the guerrilla armies no longer pose a serious threat to the continued existence of the government, they can still inflict significant damage to the
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