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Reform or Repression
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2025
This chapter unpacks a critical moment in Salvadoran history: from the coup on October 15, 1979, to the start of the civil war and mass repression during the latter part of 1980. The coup installed a military–civilian junta (the Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno or JRG) that included moderate leftists who promised a reformist solution to the economic, social, and political crisis, a solution that would prevent a looming civil war. These reforms included land reform, union rights, and an end to political repression. However, disjunction between revolutionary rhetoric and grassroots struggles and necessities impeded an alliance between the JRG and popular organizations. The JRG itself dissolved and re-formed as rightists pushed out representatives of the Left. This chapter discusses the factors that led up to the coup then summarizes the three successive JRGs and how sectors of the military and civil society responded to their reforms, setting the stage for the twelve-year civil war.
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