Elections in El Salvador: Examining the Apparent Electoral Dominance of the Political Right Following the Civil War
Abstract
Since the end of a bloody civil war and the advent of truly free elections in the
early 1990s, El Salvador has experienced several rounds of presidential, legislative, and
municipal elections. These have been peaceful and competitive. In general, the country
has tended to favor the more conservative ARENA party over its primary competitors.
The present research attempts to describe this trend and its antecedents in greater detail
than has been previously attempted. A survey was administered to 60 Salvadorans in their
native country and in the United States in an attempt to determine voter perceptions of
the strategies and events that have led to the generally conservative trend. The attitudes
expressed in this survey are consistent with the electoral outcomes and indicate a general favoring of a market economy as opposed to the socialist offering of the primary
competition. At the same time, concerns remain regarding a variety of social issues such
as education, poverty, and crime. Based on these surveys, it seems likely that approaches
to these and other issues important to Salvadoran voters will be decided on a political
middle ground in which compromise and pragmatism are valued more than ideological
purity. Elections will remain competitive, and the country’s commitment to democracy
seems likely to flourish.
Citation
Robles, G. (2007). Elections in El Salvador: Examining the apparent electoral dominance of the political right following the civil war (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas.Download
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