Up until the early 20th century, the government of El Salvador was controlled primarily by a small oligarchy of wealthy landowning elites, especially powerful coffee-growing families often referred to as the “coffee oligarchy.”

Who Held Power

  • During the 19th century and into the early 1900s, political power was concentrated in a few elite families who owned large estates and dominated the export economy, first through indigo and later coffee.
  • Constitutions and laws were repeatedly shaped to protect the interests of these landowners, giving them disproportionate influence in the legislature, the presidency, and local government.

Role of the Coffee Oligarchy

  • As coffee became the dominant export in the late 19th century, coffee barons gained even tighter control over the state, using the government to secure land, labor, and favorable trade conditions.
  • This system of rule is often described as an oligarchic “coffee republic,” where formal political institutions existed but real decision-making rested with a narrow economic elite.

Link to Later Military Rule

  • The dominance of these elites set the stage for later military dictatorships: when the Great Depression undermined coffee profits and social unrest rose, military officers moved in but continued to protect oligarchic interests.
  • Even after generals took the presidency in the 20th century, the traditional landowning class remained deeply entwined with state power and policy.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.