El Salvador

Introduction

El Salvador was named after the Spanish word for “The Savior” in honor of Jesus Christ. The official language spoken is Spanish. It is approximately 8,000 square miles and located in Central America between Guatemala and Honduras. The population of El Salvador is roughly 6.9 million people. Encompassing that 6.9 million is 2.2 million located in the largest city, and also the capital of El Salvador, San Salvador.

El Salvador became an independent republic in 1821 and is now divided into 14 departments which have 267 municipalities. The president, Antonio Saca, was elected in 2004. Saca was the clear favorite of George Bush’s administration in the 2004 presidential election. . El Salvador is the most densely populated nation on the American mainland and is undergoing both rapid industrialization and population growth.

Coffee has yielded enormous profits for El Salvador and contributes to the GDP of $36 billion. The currency is the US dollar and El Salvador it he 3rd largest economy in the region. Coffee is not the only source of profit for this country though. There are several other natural resources that contribute as well such as hydropower, geothermal power, and arable land. Even though it is the 3rd largest economy in the region, approximately 35% of its population lives below poverty line.

The climate in El Salvador is a tropical climate with pronounced wet and dry seasons. The rainy season extends from May to October and from November through April, the northeast trade winds control weather patterns. It lies along the Pacific ring of fire which subjects it to earthquakes and volcanic activity. The most recent volcanic activity was reported on October 1, 2005 and the most recent earthquake activity was January 13, 2001, causing a landslide and killing more than 800 people. Since El Salvador does lie along the Pacific Ocean, it is subjected to severe weather conditions including heavy rain storms and severe droughts.

The only airport serving international flights in El Salvador is the Comalapa International Airport. This airport is located about 30 minutes southeast of the capital. El Salvador's tourism industry has grown dynamically over recent years and as a result, the government is focusing on developing this sector. In the recent year, El Salvador’s tourism accounted for close to 5% of GDP. At the same time, tourism grew worldwide. In the same respect, El Salvador saw an increase in tourist activity as well. The prominent attraction in El Salvador is its beaches and nightlife. El Salvador is known for its nightclubs and girls. Because of its geographical size and urbanization, surfing is the natural tourist sector that grows rapidly. Since there are direct flights from most US cities lasting only 4-5 hours, the culture has adapted to the American way in several occurrences, namely, malls, stores, and restaurants.

Globalization

For El Salvador, globalization is something that is constantly taking place. It is all around them where ever they look. According to Nancy San Martin, part of the awareness that is going on is how El Salvador is aware of the need of their attendance in Iraq. They have recently reduced their presence by a hundred soldiers, decreasing their soldiers from 380 to 280.

El Salvador has closely been parallel to the United States on several issues including the vision of democracy and free trade. This has been the resemblance over the past several years, lending El Salvador an ally to the United States. The United States has not allowed this to go unnoticed. El Salvador, at one point, was the largest recipient of aid from the United States.

The United States has invested several billion dollars on the Salvadoran military in the early 1980’s and we recognize that there is the necessity for their help in exchange for our help. El Salvador will continue to be an ally for the United States because of our political stance as a democracy as well as our investment in their country. Though their troops are dramatically less than other countries, their willingness to assist us in the war leads to their partnership with the United States.

As times progress, El Salvador has continuously shown their awareness to the global events by staying prepared. As Nancy San Martin points out, they are putting their troops through intense simulations in order to prepare them for their trip into Iraq. They dramatize certain events so that when they do send their troops overseas, they will be readily prepared. It is important to ensure that their troops are current on the strategies that play a major role in the war in Iraq right now. If they were to send their troops overseas without being adequately prepared, destruction