Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador

Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno
← 1979–1982 →
Flag Coat of arms
Motto "Dios, Unión, Libertad" (Spanish) English: "God, Unity, Freedom"
Anthem Himno Nacional de El Salvador English: "National Anthem of El Salvador"
Capital		San Salvador
Languages		Spanish
Government		Military dictatorship
Legislature		First Revolutionary Government Junta (1979-1980) Second Revolutionary Government Junta (1980-1982) Third Revolutionary Government Junta (1982)
Historical era		Cold War - Salvadoran Civil War
•	Coup d'etát	October 15, 1979
•	Transition to democracy	March 3, 1982
Currency		United States dollar
Warning: Value specified for "continent" does not comply

The Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador (Spanish: Junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno, JRG) was the military dictatorship that ruled El Salvador between October 15, 1979 and May 2, 1982. It contained two colonels, Adolfo Arnaldo Majano Ramos and Jaime Abdul Gutiérrez Avendaño, and three civilians, Guillermo Ungo, Mario Antonio Andino and Román Mayorga Quirós. During its reign, the Revolutionary Government has been the source on the history of mass murder, torture, executions and unexplained disappearances.

Rise to power

After years of human rights abuses from paramilitary right-wing groups, the JRG ousted President Carlos Humberto Romero on October 15, 1979. Although Colonels Majano and Gutiérrez were from the Army (generally seen as a force for right-wing politics,) the junta took inspiration from left-wing politics, and initiated a program of land reform and nationalization of the banking, coffee, and sugar industries.

Downfall

Internal contradictions within the Junta soon became apparent, with Colonel Majano representing a progressive view and Colonel Gutiérrez representing a more conservative viewpoint. On January 5, 1980 the three civilians resigned, and were replaced by José Antonio Morales Ehrlich and Héctor Miguel Dada Hirezi initiating the Second Revolutionary Government Junta. When Dada Hirezi resigned in protest at the violence of the Junta on March 3, José Napoleón Duarte took his place and this was the Third Revolutionary Government Junta. On December 7, Majano was expelled from the junta (and went into exile) and on December 22, Duarte became head of the Junta, and also the head of state. Gutiérrez was Vice-President and considered to be the strong man of the regime. Two weeks after Duarte got into the Junta, Archbishop Romero was killed during mass in a Catholic church in the capital. On January 10, 1981 the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) launched a generalized attack on the government which resulted in the regime receiving immediate military aid from the U.S., including military advisers. See the Salvadoran Civil War.

On March 26, 1982 elections to the National Congress were held. Then the new Congress chose Álvaro Magaña to become the new President of El Salvador, which resulted in the end of the Junta on May 2.