The 1977 presidential election in El Salvador is a direct presidential election held in El Salvador on February 20, 1977 in accordance with the 1962 Constitution, which provided the army and oligarchy with control over the country's political system. They ensured the continuity of power by electing the next candidate from the army to the presidency and at the same time finally split the country's political space into two irreconcilable camps. The Salvadoran opposition did not recognize the election results and lost hope of victory in the future, which was one of the reasons for the outbreak of civil war .
← 1972  1982 → | |||
| 1977 presidential election in Salvador | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | |||
| February 20th | |||
| Voter turnout | 68% (out of 1 206 942) | ||
 |  | ||
| Candidate | Carlos Umberto Romero Mena | Ernesto Claramont Rosewill | |
| The consignment | National Reconciliation Party | National Opposition Union | |
| Votes | 812 281 (67.30%) | 394,661 (32.70%) | |
History and Significance
The 1977 election was the fourth election under the military constitutional regime, which guaranteed the victory of the ruling National Reconciliation Party and its presidential candidate, army representative. On July 1, 1977, the five-year presidential term of Colonel Arturo Armando Molina expired before the election of the presidential secretary Sanchez Hernandez. Now the choice of the military command and the oligarchic families fell on the Minister of Defense and Public Security, General Carlos Umberto Romero, who became the government candidate. General Romero, who was 53 years old nine days after the election, graduated from cavalry courses in Mexico, held minor military posts until 1972, but then became a significant figure and even headed the Central American Defense Council (CONDECA).
The main opposition forces (the Christian Democratic Party , the National Revolutionary Movement and the Democratic Nationalist Union) joined together in the National Opposition Union, which nominated a single candidate - retired Colonel Ernesto Antonio Claramont. The former cavalry officer Ernesto Claramont, the same age as Carlos Romero, was not previously seen in big politics and did not hold government posts, but became famous as one of the participants in the Football War with Honduras in 1969 [1] .
The February 20, 1977 election did not bring any surprises — General Romero and his Vice Presidential candidate, Dr. Julio Ernesto Astasio, were proclaimed elected [2] even before the final vote count. Observers noted massive violations [3] , the National Opposition Union, Colonel Claramont and his candidate for vice presidency, Christian Democrat Dr. Jose Antonio Morales, accused the authorities of rigging the election. The opposition pointed to the massive "stuffing" of fake ballots, the fact that observers were beaten and driven out of polling stations, and that the election process was secretly coordinated through military radio communications. The extreme right militia of the ORDEN exerted severe pressure on voters in favor of the government candidate. In 16 districts where, according to observers, voting was held in accordance with the law, Colonel Claramon won about 75% of the vote [4] . Thousands of dissatisfied gathered in La Libertad Square and in the park of the same name demanding the cancellation of the voting results. General Carlos Umberto Romero, as Minister of Public Security, made a statement that the elections were fair and introduced a state of siege for 30 days. On February 28, 1977, the day before his birthday, an elected candidate ordered the security forces to disperse the opposition. During an operation known as the 1977 Massacre (Masacre de 1977) or the Liberty Park Massacre (Masacre en el parque Libertad), army and police forces surrounded the park with tank support and opened fire on protesters. The only refuge for the opposition was the church of El Rosario. By the morning of the next day, more than 50 people died, hundreds were injured, including Colonel Claramont [5] [6] .
On July 1, 1977, General Carlos Umberto Romero took the oath of office as constitutional president of El Salvador, [2] and his opponent, Colonel Ernesto Claramont, was expelled to Costa Rica. The hopes of the legal opposition that changes in the country can be achieved by participating in the elections were dispelled. The hopes of the ruling circles to maintain stability also turned out to be untenable: tensions in Salvadoran society grew rapidly, and after two years the regime completely lost its safety margin. In October 1979, the constitutional order collapsed, and the ousted General Romero was expelled to Guatemala. The country began a civil war .
Notes
- ↑ HECTOR ANTONIO HERNANDEZ TURCIOS. REGIMEN DE PARTIDOS POLITICOS EN EL SALVADOR 1930-1975 (Spanish) . CORTE SUPREMA DE JUSTICIA BIBLIOTECA JUDICIAL "DR. RICARDO GALLARDO" BIBLIOGRAFÍA DE TESIS. Date of treatment January 30, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 International Yearbook, 1978 , p. 282.
- ↑ D.Nohlen, 2005 , p. 289.
- ↑ Herman, Edward S. and Frank Brodhead, 1984 , p. 102.
- ↑ THE 1970s: THE ROAD TO REVOLT . US Library of Congress. Date of treatment January 7, 2013.
- ↑ Daniel Trujillo. CEBES recuerda la masacre de 1977 (Spanish) (link not available) . Diario Co Latino (Lunes, 02 de Marzo de 2009 / 11:38 h). Date of treatment January 30, 2014. Archived February 1, 2014.
Literature
- International Yearbook. Politics and economics. 1978 .. - M .: Politizdat, 1978.
- Dieter Nohlen. Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I. - Oxford: OUP Oxford, 2005 .-- 620 p. - ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6 .
- Herman, Edward S. and Frank Brodhead. Demonstration elections: US-staged elections in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and El Salvador. - Boston: South End Press, 1984. - S. 102.
- Byrne, Hugh. El Salvador's civil war: a study of revolution. (Excellent source of information on FMLN strategies, progression of the war, and impasse that led both sides to the peace agreement.). - Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1996.
- Caldera T., Hilda. Historia del Partido Demócrata Cristiano de El Salvador. - Tegucigalpa: Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Políticos, 1983.
- Political Handbook of the world, 1977. - New York, 1978.
- Webre, Stephen. José Napoleón Duarte and the Christian Democratic Party in Salvadoran Politics 1960-1972. - Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1979.
Links
- Romero: ¡Cese la represión! 1977-1980. (Spanish) (inaccessible link) . Equipo Maíz (24 de marzo de 2006). Date of treatment January 30, 2014. Archived on February 25, 2014.