1934

Krehm 1947: Martínez resigns the presidency six months before the election so he will be eligible for election, appoints his minister of war General Andrés Ignacio Menéndez as interim president (page 107).

1935

January: Presidential election (Hernández Martínez / Partido Pro-Patria)

Anderson 1971: The Partido Pro-Patria presidential candidate runs unopposed and is elected (page 151).

Krehm 1957: "Al llegar al poder, Martínez había jurado respetar la Constitucíon que le prohibía reelegirse. Pero se reeligió por el simple artificio de entregar el poder, seis meses antes de la elección, a su ministro de la guerra" (page 36).

Williams 1997: "(P)opular elections for president of the republic were held on 13, 14, and 15 January 1935, but no results were posted" (page 27). "(T)he only organizations that could, in practice, enter the field of politics were those that had the direct blessing of the regime. As it happens, that meant only one: the official party, the Partido Nacional ‘Pro-Patria’."

1936

Williams 1997: "Nor were any results published for the elections for deputies to the National Assembly (legislature) in January 1936" (page 27).

1939

Constituent assembly election

Williams 1997: "The only available reference to an electoral turnout is for the constituent assembly election in 1939 when 210,810 voters cast their ballots, a number nearly equivalent to the total electoral body according to the government" (page 27).

Presidential election

Krehm 1957: "Cuatro años más tarde (Martínez) halló algo políticamente trascendental--no el voto secreto, sino que las elecciones secretas---. Repentinamente anunció que se habían realizado reuniones en cabildo abierto y que todos habían votado unánimemente para que él fuera Presidente una vez más. Nadie había visto esas reuniones" (page 36).

Parker 1981: 1939 constitution sets presidential term at six years (page 152).

Williams 1997: Martínez is reappointed by the constituent assembly (page 27).

1944

Krehm 1957: "A principios de 1944...los habitantes de la capital se divertieron al leer en los periódicos, una mañana, que los departamentos habían votado por la reforma de la Constitución, para que Martínez permaneciera en el poder hasta diciembre de 1949" (page 37).

Williams 1997: "(J)ust three months before his overthrow, a second constituent assembly decided unanimously to give Hernández Martínez a fourth term" (page 27).

April

Caldera T. 1983: "El 2 de abril de 1944 hubo un intento de golpe de estado, producto de un levantamiento militar, pero fue detenido a tiempo y se fusilaron a muchos de los insurgentes" (page 5).

May

Caldera T. 1983: "(E)n este mismo año todos los sectores económicos se unieron en contra del Gral. Hernández Martínez y uno de los actos de protesta más fuertes fue la huelga ‘de mayo’ o de ‘brazos caídos’ en donde se paralizaron todas las actividades económicas" (page 5).

Eguizábal 1984: "Después del golpe fallido en abril de 1944, una Huelga General de brazos caídos obligo al dictador a renunciar el 8 de mayo del mismo año" (page 18).

Ruddle 1972: Martínez resigns the presidency on May 9 (page 40)

Webre 1979: Martínez resigns and leaves the country, handing power to General Andrés Ignacio Menéndez (page 13).

Williams 1997: "As of 9 May, El Salvador entered into a six-month period of heightened political activity as a variety of political groups prepared for the presidential elections scheduled for early 1945. During these months, an opening toward a democratic form of government seemed possible but in the end failed due to the disorganized nature of the opposition and the military’s concern that events were spinning out of its control" (page 31).

October 21: Government overthrown, new president (Osmín Aguirre)

Baloyra 1982: "Menéndez was forced to resign, and the members of the legislature were assembled at the Zapote barracks to witness the swearing in of Aguirre as provisional president" (page 16).

Krehm 1957: Government is overthrown in reaction to Guatemalan coup of October 20^th (pages 59-60).

Parker 1981: "A new revolt on 21 October 1944 put Osmín Aguirre y Salinas in power, over the opposition of liberal forces which had fought to get rid of Hernández" (page 152).

Webre 1979: "(T)he new president, Colonel Osmín Aguirre y Salinas, [is the] director of the national police and a principal figure in the massacre of 1932" (page 14).

Williams 1997: "Aguirre’s coup d’etat put an end to El Salvador’s democratic opening" (page 33).

1945

January 16: Presidential election (Castañeda Castro)

Krehm 1957: Describes election (page 122). The independent parties withdraw with allegations of fraud and threats and peasants are trucked into San Salvador and given coupons for free food and drink each time they vote. "Nadie se sorprendió cuando Castañeda obtuvo la victoria con un gran número de votos."

Larde y Larin 1958: "Sin oposición alguna y como candidato oficial, el general Castañeda Castro fue electo, conforme a la Constitución del 86" (page 50).

Parker 1981: "(F)ive candidates withdrew after accusing Aguirre of unfair practices to ensure the success of his candidate" (page 152).

Webre 1979: "Aguirre proceeded with the postponed elections, but close governmental control of the electoral machinery left little doubt as to the outcome. The army’s candidate, General Salvador Castañeda Castro, easily defeated Arturo Romero" (page 14).

November

Parker 1981: "In November [1945] the country returned to its 1886 constitution providing the traditional four-year presidential term instead of a six-year span stipulated in the 1939 document" (page 152).

1948

Krehm 1957: On December 14 the government is overthrown and the Revolutionary Council (Consejo de Gobierno Revolucionario) is established headed by Colonel Manuel de Jesus Cordova. Gives names of all members of the council (page 61).

McDonald 1969: "In 1948 moderate elements of the military assumed power and embarked on a program of ‘controlled reform.’ One of the instruments they created was the Partido Revolucionario de Unificación Democrática (PRUD), a political party designed to consolidate the regime and buld an element of mass support for its policies" (page 402).

Parker 1981: "On 13 December 1948 an obeisant legislature decided that Castañeda, having been elected under the 1939 constitution, was entitled to six years in office. On the following day a military junta took his place" (page 152).

Webre 1979: "...the morning after Castañeda called for a constitutional amendment to permit the extension of his term, the junior officers overthrew him" (page 15).

1949

January 5: Osorio assumes leadership of junta

Ruddle 1972: On January 5 "Cordova resigns as head of the junta and Maj. Oscar Osorio assumes control" (page 40).

February 7: Commission formed to prepare an electoral code

CCE 1951: "Por acuerdo No. 206 de 7 de febrero de 1949, publicado en el Diario Oficial de la misma fecha, el Honorable Consejo de Gobierno Revolucionario, designó la comisión que se encargaría de formular un proyecto de Ley Electoral" (page 40).

October 22: Bolanos takes over leadership of the junta

Ruddle 1972: "Osorio resigns to become an eligible candidate for the presidency; he is succeeded by Oscar Bolanos" (page 40).

Webre 1979: "Osorio...left the council in order to campaign for the presidency as the candidate of the official party of the ‘revolution’" (page 15).

1950

January 21: Law creating the CCE is published

CCE 1951: Gives law creating the Consejo Central de Elecciones and its dependencies (pages 13-19). Gives electoral districts and number of congressional representatives to be elected from each (pages 21-22).

Eguizábal 1992a: "En enero de 1950 se promulgó la Ley Transitoria Electoral que instituía el sistema mayoritario de lista ( el partido ganador en cada departamento obtenía el total de la representación) para las elecciones de diputados constituyentes. Si ningún candidato presidencial obtenía la mayoría de los votos populares, su elección recaía en la Asamblea" (page 44).

Williams 1997: Describes establishment of CCE (pages 42-43).

January 31: First members of the CCE are named

March 26-29: General election (Osorio / PRUD)

Benítez Manaut 1990: Gives percents of the vote for PRUD and PAR (page 72).

CCE 1951: "Cuadro de la distribución de papeletas por departamento" (pages 49-50). Gives for each department the estimated number of voters, number of ballots assigned by the CCE and number of ballots actually given to the departmental electoral board, and the numbers on the ballots assigned. Gives the names of the delegates elected by the PAR (14) and PRUD (38) to the constituent assembly (pages 58-59). "Cuadro estadistico de votantes y juntas receptoras de votos por cada pueblo y urnas en cada pueblo" (pages 105-111). Gives for each town in each department the number of inhabitants, numbers who are male or female, number of electoral committees, and number of ballot boxes. The "resumen" (page 111) totals this information for departments and for the country. "Cuadros de escrutinios para diputados, para presidente" (pages 112-133). Give for each town in each department the votes for PAR, votes for PRUD, null votes, and total votes. These "cuadros" are the reports from the electoral boards of each department, and include additional information on delegates, voting irregularities, etc. The "escrutinio presidencial" (pages 132-133) summarizes this information for the departments and for the country. "Cuadro control de distribución de papeletas y urnas electorales en el departamento de..." (Pages 134-144). Gives for each town in each department the number of registered voters, number of ballot boxes, number of ballots assigned, and number of ballots used. The last tables in the report (pages 145-154) give the basic information from each town in each department given on pages 112-133. The PAR won 266,271 votes and the PRUD won 345,139 votes.

Eguizábal 1984: "Durante la década del 50, el Partido Acción Renovadora, PAR, fue el principal partido de oposición. Aglutinaba a elementos progresistas de ejército y a parte importante de la oposición civil durante la dictadura martinista...En lo político, aunque su candidato a las elecciones presidenciales de 1950 fue un militar, el PAR abogaba por el establecimiento de un régimen civil...El Coronel José Asencio Menéndez, candidato del PAR en 1950 [ganó] al 43.5% de los votos y el partido logró ocupar 14 de los 52 escaños en la Asamblea Constituyente elegida simultáneamente" (page 19).

El Salvador 1982: "PRUD’s candidate...won amid protests of electoral abuse" (page 4). PAR receives 43% of the presidential vote and 14 congressional seats (page 28).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: Gives votes for top two presidential candidates and total votes cast (pages 8 and 28). PRUD wins all seats in Congress (page 28).

Kantor 1969: Gives numbers of votes for PRUD and PAR (page 112). PRUD wins a majority of the congressional seats. Women vote for the first time.

Montgomery 1995: "Osorio won with 60 percent of the vote. PRUD captured a decisive majority in the Constitutional Assembly" (page 46).

Parker 1981: Osorio "was elected president of the country with an announced 56 per cent of the vote" (page 153).

Ruddle 1972: Gives votes won by Osorio (page 86).

Webre 1979: "The PRUD and the PAR were El Salvador’s first permanent electoral parties....The PAR challenge to Osorio...was a serious one. Although the PRUD won the election of March, 1950, Menéndez received nearly 45 percent of the vote and the PAR captured fourteen seats in the Constituent Assembly elected simultaneously" (page 16).

Williams 1997: Gives votes cast, number of votes for president and constituent assembly seats won by PRUD and PAR, and null votes (page 44).

September

Parker 1981: New constitution becomes effective on September 14, 1950. "A Legislative Assembly would be elected every two years, with the suffrage granted to men and women over eighteen years of age. The president would be elected by the people for a six-year term with no immediate re-election possible" (page 153).

1952

May 26: Congressional and municipal election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins an absolute majority, winning all 54 seats and 260 mayoralties (the opposition refrains from participating) (page 72).

El Salvador 1982: "PRUD through its control over the CCE managed to disqualify all the PAR’s legislative assembly candidates in the 1952 elections" (page 4).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: PRUD wins all seats in an uncontested election (page 28). Due to the lack of opposition, PRUD wins all the mayoralty posts and municipal-council seats (page 28).

Webre 1979: "Established two years earlier as a guarantor of free and impartial elections, the CCE had effectively lost its independence by 1952. The Legislative Assembly selected, and continues to select, the three members of the council: it is recognized as routine that the party that controls the assembly will control the CCE as well" (page 18).

Williams 1997: "For the legislative elections of May 1952, PRUD ran unopposed after oppopsition groups withdrew their candidates at the last moment, claiming that fraud would be committed; thus, PRUD got all of the over seven hundred thousand votes cast" (page 46).

1954

May 2-4: Congressional and municipal election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins an absolute majority, winning all 54 seats and 260 mayoralties (the opposition refrains from participating) (page 72).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: PRUD, without opposition, wins all congressional seats and municipal offices (page 28).

1956

March 4: Presidential election (Lemus / PRUD)

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins 94% of the vote (page 72).

El Salvador 1982: "...the opposition parties withdrew their candidates from the 1956 elections in protest. Needing some surface legitimacy for the elections, however, PRUD prohibited the opposition parties from having their candidates/names withdrawn from the ballots" (page 5).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: "Lemus, a hand-picked candidate of Osorio, was elected president unopposed, after three of the five opposition candidates had been declared ineligible by the army-controlled election board, and after the other two had withdrawn in protest" (pages 8 and 28-29). Gives total votes for Lemus and votes for the opposition (pages 16 and 29).

Kantor 1969: Gives numbers of votes for Lemus and the opposition (page 114).

McDonald 1969: "Lemus soon embarked on a program of repression against ‘left-wing’ tendencies within the country, perhaps inspired by the abortive attempt of Arbenz shortly before to establish a proto-communist regime in neighboring Guatemala" (page 403).

Parker 1981: "The announced vote was 93 per cent for Lemus over his combined opposition, the withdrawals of Carranza and Mazaña not having removed their names from the ballot" (page 154).

Ruddle 1972: PID, PAC, PAN, and PAR "are disqualified from participating in the forthcoming elections by the electoral council" (page 40).

Webre 1979: "Government figures claimed that 712,000 Salvadorans voted in 1956" (page 24).

White 1973: The PRUD candidate wins the election when all the opposition candidates withdraw (page 106).

Williams 1997: "It was not until 1956, when presidential elections were combined with legislative and municipal ones, that part of the opposition decided to stay in the race. As a result of criticism about holding presidential, legislative, and municipal elections at the same time, the legislative assembly reformed the election law so that the election for president was held on a different date from the others. In this manner, the people would have the possibility of splitting their preference. This gave the opposition parties hope that they might get at least some seats in the legislature and they proceeded to choose candidates to oppose the PRUD" (page 46). Gives votes received by Lemus and total votes cast (page 47).

May 15: Congressional election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins 54 seats (page 72).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: Gives total vote and percent of vote for PRUD and PAN (page 29). PRUD won all seats in Congress.

Ruddle 1972: Gives votes for each party (page 86).

Williams 1997: "PRUD got over 550,000 votes to 34,000 for the one participating opposition party" (page 47).

July 1: Municipal election

Baloyra 1982: PAR wins the mayoralty of San Salvador (page 44).

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins 258 mayoralties (page 72).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: Gives total vote and percents of vote for PRUD and opposition parties (page 29).

1958

March 23: Congressional election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins all seats (page 72).

Eguizábal 1984: "(E)n las elecciones legislativas de 1958, la oposición se abstuvo de participar y el partido oficial esta vez se adjudicó la totalidad de los votos" (page 20).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: PRUD runs unopposed to retain all seats (page 29).

Ruddle 1972: Gives votes for PRUD (page 86).

April 27: Municipal election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins 254 mayoralties (page 72).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: PRUD wins all but six mayoralties (page 29).

1960

April 24: Congressional and municipal election

Benítez Manaut 1990: PRUD wins all seats and 250 mayoralties (page 72).

Eguizábal 1984: "(E)l PAR ganó varias alcaldías, incluyendo la de San Salvador. Hasta ahora cobran importancia los resultados de las elecciones municipales que tienen lugar al mismo tiempo que las legislativas, pues antes de esta fecha no habían tenido incidencia en la política nacional" (page 20).

ICSPS El Salvador 1967: "PRUD again won all the seats" (pages 8-9, 29). Gives major cities won by PAR (page 29).

Kantor 1969: "For the first time since 1950, the opposition participated in the election" (page 114). Lemus changes election laws, leading to protests.

Ruddle 1972: Gives votes for PRUD and PAR (page 86).

Webre 1979: PAR qualifies in only seven departments and wins six mayoralties, including San Salvador (page 27). "Although the PAR won the major municipal election in the department of San Salvador, the government had not permitted it to enter the assembly race there" (page 28).

Williams 1997: All seats are won by PRUD; PAR wins control of the municipal council of San Salvador (page 54). "This electoral victory by PAR set the pattern for the following decade, when the regime decided that controlling voting results in San Salvador was too difficult or costly and allowed opposition activities to proceed with relatively little hindrance."

August 25: Students strike

September 5: Congress votes a state of siege

October 26: Government overthrown

Bland 1992: "A group of maverick junior officers...staged the 1960 coup with the aim of allowing a political opening. With an outpouring of popular support, they established a junta that included three civilians and promised to conduct free and open elections" (pages 167-168).

Kantor 1969: "The junta consisted of three army officers and three civilians, a peculiar combination of military men and Castro sympathizers" (page 114).

McDonald 1969: "The new military and civilian junta promptly ended Lemus’ policies and allowed several left-wing parties and groups to reform" (page 403).

November

Caldera T. 1983: The Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC) is founded on November 25, 1960 (page 9).

December 15: Central American Common Market established by the Organization of Central American States