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1 (April 3, 2006)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthabcdw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21655 Updated April 3, 2006 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and Relations with the United States Clare M. Ribando Analyst in Latin American Affairs Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary Tony Saca, a businessman from the conservative National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party, was inaugurated as president for a five-year term in June 2004. President Saca is seeking to restart the country's stagnating economy, pass legislation in a polarized political environment, and combat gang violence. His legislative agenda should face continuing opposition from the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), which recovered seats it had lost due to defections in 2005 in the March 12, 2006, legislative elections. ARENA also increased its representation in the legislature, but lacks a majority and will continue to have to rely on support from small parties to enact President Saca's agenda. In 2005, despite its tough anti-gang legislation, El Salvador posted a murder rate of 15 people per day, the highest in the hemisphere. In February 2006, the Bush Administration extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of eligible Salvadoran migrants living in the United States until September 9, 2007. On March 1, 2006, El Salvador became the first country in the region to implement the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR- CAFTA) with the United States. This report will be updated periodically. Background El Salvador, nearly the size of Massachusetts, is the smallest nation in Central America, and the most densely populated with 6.3 million people. With a per capita income of $2,050, it is considered a lower middle-income country. In the past dozen years, El Salvador posted solid economic growth, held free and fair presidential and municipal elections, and survived a series of natural disasters. Significant problems remain, however, such as endemic poverty and rampant gang violence. These social problems, as well as a polarized political system, are inextricably linked to the country's devastating civil war, which lasted throughout the 1980s. Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress

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