El Salvador 2018
Yearbook 2018
El Salvador. According to Countryaah.com, San Salvador is the capital city of El Salvador, a country located in North America. The ruling party FMLN (Front Farabundo Martí for National Liberation) suffered its biggest electoral defeat in the congressional and municipal elections held on March 4. After a delayed vote count, it was clear that the party lost eight of its 31 seats in Congress, while the largest opposition party Arena (Republican National Alliance) increased its mandate by three to 37. Two other right-wing parties won the remaining mandate, which meant the united opposition in Congress can mobilize both simple and qualified majority, which is required, for example, to vote down a presidential vote and force ministers away.
- According to Abbreviationfinder: SLV is an three letter acronym for El Salvador.
In the municipal elections held at the same time, things did not go much better for the FMLN. Among other things, they lost the mayor’s post in the capital, San Salvador, and otherwise won only in two of the country’s 14 provincial capitals, while Arena took home 136 of 262 smaller municipalities. One of the Arena’s re-elected mayors, Lucio Ayala, was arrested by police shortly after the election, accused of conspiring with a criminal league on the border with Honduras.
All in all, the election result posed significant problems for President Salvador Sánchez Cerén. But even for Arena, things went worse than expected; turnout was the lowest in twelve years, only 46%, which was interpreted as many refraining from voting in protest against both leading parties. In addition, Arena suffered a severe loss of prestige when the former president (2004-09) and Arena member Antonio Saca in early August became the first president to be sentenced to prison for corruption. In an effort to mitigate the verdict, he admitted to the court money laundering and embezzlement of the equivalent of $ 301 million during his term. Maurício Funes of FMLN, President 2009-14, has also been convicted of corruption but lives in political asylum in Nicaragua and appealed in January a court order from November 2017.
On March 7, Pope Francis announced that a process of surrendering to Óscar Romero would begin, and on October 14 came the formal saint’s declaration. Romero was the Archbishop of San Salvador and was murdered during the Civil War in El Salvador in 1980 by a death squadron in the midst of a church service. He embraced liberation theology and became known for his defense of the poor, which made him controversial both in his home country and in the Vatican. A legal process to determine those responsible for the murder has been ongoing since May 2017.
Country data
Area: 21,041 km2 (world ranking: 149)
Population: 6,378,000
Population density: 303 per km2 (as of 2017, world ranking: 107)
Capital: San Salvador
Official languages: Spanish
Gross domestic product: 24.8 billion US $; Real growth: 2.3%
Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 3560 US$
Currency: 1 El-Salvador-Colón (cent) = 100 Centavos (also legal tender: US$)
Embassy
Joachim-Karnatz-Allee 47, 10557 Berlin
Telephone 030 2064660,
Fax 030 22488244 http://embajadaalemania.rree.gob.sv
Government
Head of State and Government: Salvador Sánchez CerénÓscar Ortiz Ascencio, Exterior: Carlos Castaneda Magana
National holiday: 15.9.
Administrative structure
14 Departamentos
State and form of government
Constitution of 1983
Presidential Republic
Parliament: Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) with 84 members, election every 3 years
Direct election of the head of state every 5 years (no re-election)
Right to vote from 18 years
Population: Salvadorians, last census 2007 : 5,744,113 residents.
90% of European indigenous descent, 10% indigenous people (especially Pipil); over 2 million Salvadorans live abroad
Cities (with population): (As of 2017) Soyapango 283,200 pop., San Salvador 238,200 pop. (A 1.8 million), Santa Ana 226,900, San Miguel 192,500, Apopa 185,100, Mejicanos 144,900, Ilopango 135,700, Colón 131,500, Tonacatepeque 129,300, Nueva San Salvador ( Santa Tecla) 123,800, Delgado 119,500
Religions: 51% Catholics, 33% Protestants (especially evangelicals), minorities of Jews, Muslims and followers of indigenous religions; 14% without religion (as of 2006)
Languages: Spanish; indigenous languages: Nahua, Maya; English
Workers by economic sector: agriculture. 19%, industry 21%, business 60% (2017)
Unemployment (in% of all labor force): 2017: 4.5%; high underemployment
Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 1.0%
Foreign trade: import: US $ 10.6 billion (2017); Export: US $ 5.8 billion (2017)
