El Salvador Multiple Choice Quiz | 10 Questions

Answer: The Sorcerer

El Brujo was not one of life's nicer individuals. Whilst in office he presided over the killings of thousands of peasants in 1932 and justified his actions with the statement that "In El Salvador I am God." Many died under his hand. He also had many strange remedies for various ailments. Once, at a time when the country was being ravaged by smallpox, he ordered that red cellophane be wrapped around all the street lights in the cities, since he believed that coloured street lights would clean the air and stop the disease from spreading!

Answer: Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez

Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez ("El Brujo") was born in 1882. Trained initially as a lawyer at the turn of the century he became bored and left for a military education in Guatemala. He was interested in the occult, believed in sorcery and frequently held seances. He died in exile in Honduras in 1966 aged 88 years after being stabbed to death by his chauffeur.

Answer: January 22, 1932

The uprising was a failure as the government learnt of the Communist plans ahead of time. A tip-off from an informer enabled the government to arrest three of the leaders. However, in spite of this set-back many Communists went ahead with the plan. On January 20, peasants armed with machetes occupied towns in the western highlands, a rich coffee growing area. Decades of rage and resentment were unleashed and at least 100 local government officials and wealthy landowners were dragged out of their homes and slaughtered by peasant rebels.

Answer: The massacre

The revenge massacre that followed the abortive uprising was savage. Jose Feliciano Ama, a rebel leader from Izalco, was hanged in front of a group of local schoolchildren. Government troops targeted anyone who had a 'native' appearance, dressed like a campesino or carried a machete. All were shot on the spot.

In Juayua, the centre of the uprising, troops killed all the men, women, children - and dogs. Peasants, guilty or not, were lined up and shot after first being forced to dig their own graves. Almost an entire generation of the indigenous population was destroyed. Even today, aside from certain special occasions, indigenous Salvadorans are rarely seen in their native dress or heard speaking their native tongue.

The memory of that time is still very strong.

Answer: Jose Napoleon Duarte

Jose Napoleon Duarte was born in 1926. He came from a simple background. His father had the good fortune to win the national lottery and used the proceeds to send young Jose to study at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. After completing his education Duarte helped found the Christian Democratic Party (PDC).

He ran for president in 1972 but when it was clear that he had won, the military imposed a three-day blackout. Duarte was then sent into exile, where he remained for the next ten years.

He returned during the early eighties and stood again for president in 1984 during the civil war. This time he won a close vote. Promising to end the civil war, he failed utterly. Towards the end of his term as president he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Jose Napoleon Duarte died in 1990 and the war which he so much wanted to end continued.

Answer: January 22, 1980

On January 22, 1980 the streets of the capital were filled with more than 220,000 people demonstrating peacefully against the death squads and killings. During the course of the march shots rang out from somewhere around the presidential palace. Dozens of protestors were gunned down and the crowd fled for safety.

Answer: House-to-house searches by police

Fearing a 'memorial uprising' 1,000 policemen conducted house-to-house searches in a none-too-gentle fashion.

Answer: False

ARENA is a hardline right-wing of El Salvadorean political party and mainly represents the landowning classes.

Answer: February 1, 1992

On February 1, 1992 a cease-fire, mandated by a peace accord and under the supervision of 1,000 UN troops took effect. Both sides were overjoyed that the war had ended and celebrations took place all over El Salvador.

Answer: 95 percent

UN estimates stand at a staggering 95 percent. The remaining 5 percent is nowhere near sufficient to meet the country's needs, and so wood for construction now must be imported from Honduras. The rich variety of wild animals that once were plentiful in the forests are now extinct. Pollution is an ongoing problem made worse by foreign companies using El Salvador as a dumping ground for waste that requires treatment.

The peasants still have little or no say in what happens to the land on which they live and a sufficient supply of fresh clean water is difficult to maintain.