Civial Affair Essays - Member States Of The United Nations

Civial Affair A Civil Affair There are many different reasons why civil wars occur. These violent conflicts arise in a nation and usually destroy and split the country. The United States felt the pain that civil war causes because of the issue of states rights and slavery. Spain experienced the agony of civil war firsthand because Gen. Franco attempted a coup and tried to install a Fascist government. These two countries experienced civil wars because of political decisions and government policies. The civil wars that occurred in El Salvador and Guatemala were different from those of the United States and Spain. These countries suffered from many problems that neither the United States nor Spain had to endure. In Central America both El Salvador and Guatemala had conditions that were conducive to violent civil war. El Salvador is a small country in Central America. Coffee production is the major source of income for the country. With this much importance on one crop, the country began to expand the production of coffee. As coffee production grew, there was less and less land available for the every day farmer to use for crops to feed his family and try to make a living. The Salvadoran government began to take away the opportunities many of the poor had to live on. This lead to a migration out of El Salvador and into Mexico and the United States; however, this still left a large number of unhappy Salvadorans who were still in El Salvador. By the early 1900's the landowners were pressing to get more land for the production of coffee. In the 1960's El Salvador had the worst land to people ratio in the world. The landowners wanted more land and the poor Salvadorans wanted land themselves. The conditions in El Salvador were quickly becoming hostile. The elite had no care for the welfare of the poor. They were producing coffee for export to the world. The poor would never make enough to buy coffee produced in El Salvador. The conditions in 1960's El Salvador were quickly leading to problems. In the 1970's El Salvador began to become more violent. The government began to develop a militaristic side. The poor began to form guerilla movements to show the government that they were fed up with the situation that existed in the country (Rosenburg 14). Over the years the economic system that developed in El Salvador was a push for the poor to become involved with the guerilla movements that existed. They had seen that their government would not take care of them. Even if they did not join the guerilla movement they would help the guerillas out in any way if they could. Soon the guerillas were waging terrorist attacks and kidnappings to cripple the Salvadoran economy and system. The government and the elite were waging their own attacks against the guerillas. The two sides basically beat each other up over and over again, but neither side really had the advantage. This lasted until, in the 1980's, the guerillas rose up in one last attempt to take control of the country. When thi s failed both the guerillas and the government realized that peace was needed. Peace was finally reached and the civil war in El Salvador finally ended. Throughout the duration of the civil war the elite justified their actions several ways. From the 1930's on violence and terror were considered a viable tool that the elite could utilize for their cause. In 1932 the military crushed a revolt by poor Salvadorans and since that time violence has been a tool of the elite. By using violence in 1932 and continuing to use it, the practice of violence against the poor became a part of elitist society (Rosenburg 12). The elite began to use violence in any situation, and they taught their children that violence was appropriate for dealing with the poor. From the start of El Salvador's coffee boom, the elite in society began to develop an attitude that would allow them to see the violence that took place as a natural occurrence that should take place. Much like El Salvador, Guatemala was a hot zone for Civil War. The production of coffee and cotton for