Following the independence of El Salvador, power and property began to concentrate in the hands of an oligarchy, as the country's economy became centered around the production and export of coffee.
In 1904, the lawyer Enrique Córdova published La perspectiva teórica del anarquismo, becoming the first known Salvadoran anarchist, himself inspired by the works of Peter Kropotkin and Leo Tolstoy.
[2] At the turn of the 20th century, an organized labour movement had arisen in El Salvador, forming an opposition to the country's ruling oligarchy,[3] and anarcho-syndicalism began to develop among Salvadoran workers.
[6] This assassination led to a period of one-party rule by the National Democratic Party, which continued the liberal military administration's policy of monoculture coffee production.
[14][15] Although he had progressive ideals, having promised food, clothing, work and housing to every Salvadoran, Araujo was himself a landowner and took power in the midst of massive labor and student strikes.
[23] The government subsequently pursued a brutal campaign of repression until 1944, when Salvadoran students organized a general strike which resulted in the overthrow of the Martinez regime.
[24][25] However, the overthrow of Martínez did not bring the end of the military dictatorship, which continued to rule the country under a series of right-wing parties, supported by the United States for its anti-communist stance.
[26] The military dictatorship was finally overthrown in the 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état, which brought the moderate Revolutionary Government Junta to power, overseeing the transition to democracy.
But this also ignited the Salvadoran Civil War, in which the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front brought together a broad coalition of revolutionary socialists, syndicalists and anarchists to fight against the US-backed government.