Politics in the Americas

Here is a story of El Salvador in Spanish about a place in Puerto El Triunfo, Usulután taking center stage during the years from the late 1970s to 1980s.

I'm always wanting to know more about how struggles played out in this little corner of the America's during its civil war era, and this documentary allows us to better understand these struggles with some humanity.

A key figure in this labor struggle was Alejandro Molina Lara. Reading Jeffrey Gould's article Alejandro Molina Lara Fought for Workers’ Rights in El Salvador and the United States from Nacla introduces us to this labor activist. The video documentary gives us first-hand material of the labor struggle that played out during his active time in El Salvador.

Understanding El Salvador's history can begin from learning about its industrial role in the world market of providing indigo as a coloring agent. Later the country transitioned to producing coffee, then later diversifying its economy to exporting shrimp. The documentary grants us a peek to the labor struggles that existed during the country's economic stage of diversification during the 1970s and 1980s.