The Soccer War (1969)

The war left 3,000 dead, 6,000 wounded and caused $50 million worth of damage. Relations between the countries worsened and Honduras closed its borders to Salvadorans, blocked shipments of Salvadoran goods and even stopped buying Salvadoran products! As Salvadoran emigrants returned home, land pressures and unemployment increased.

In the end, the Salvadoran military was the only group that benefitted from the war. The "effectiveness" of the armed forces had been demostrated, and Colonel Sanchez Hernández rode a wave of nationalistic fervor into the presidency in the 1970 elections. The military-allied PCN received 60 percent of the vote versus 28 percent for the PDCs. Nonetheless, repression, torture and disappearances of dissidents continued.

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