Introduction
The national reality of El Salvador urges a deep analysis about the exponential and excessive growth of violence and crime that is currently being experienced, leaving behind political colors and preferences, creating short, medium and long term plans; carry out joint actions between government entities, mayors, NGOs, churches, formal and informal private companies, families, gangs and other social structures that achieve real change in society.
The present does not constitute even close to a total analysis about the reality that gangs in El Salvador, nor does it try to generalize to all Salvadorans on the dates that you are described, but rather a study about their origins as an identifiable and organized social group, the actuality that they live as individuals and how it is affecting society, finally and based on the experiences rescued from other countries that lived the same or similar situation, a view towards what the future holds and its most likely outcome.
The main intention of this study is not only to expose the reality about gangs in El Salvador, but also to change the erroneous concept that the media makes known, and urban stories often spread over time, as well as differentiate between gangs., gangs, armed groups, extermination groups and drug cartels. The structure into which the document is divided is made up of five easily identifiable parts: the first, the Origin of the gangs, basically constitutes the genesis of this story, delving into the two major aspects that gave rise to these groups; The next section is that of Actuality, its ramifications of social traits that as a group and as individuals possess, stratification hierarchies and the relationship that exists with their communities;the third part is constituted as the continuation or Future of the gangs, their evolution within society and the impact they will have at the national and international level; the fourth part is that of the Conclusions where the summary of the analysis of the first three points made is presented to the reader; finally a section of Recommendations that the study entails so that all of us as agents of change in society establish the direction to take.finally a section of Recommendations that the study entails so that all of us as agents of change in society establish the direction to take.finally a section of Recommendations that the study entails so that all of us as agents of change in society establish the direction to take.
1. Origin of gangs in El Salvador
1.1. War
As obvious and trite as it may seem, the civil war in El Salvador constitutes one of the main factors that brought harsh consequences for Salvadoran society; Since the beginning of the war after the assassination of Monsignor Romero in 1980, thousands of peasants from all over the country, students and social activists joined the ranks of the guerrillas in order to “obtain a better social condition”, leaving behind families, houses, jobs, studies and others; taking up arms in search of a more promising future; In this way, they began a series of social changes that would give rise to what we now know as gangs and maras. There were several roads that would all reach the same place, the types of families that originated at that time are described below, emphasizing the role that children played at that time:
Families at war
Those who dragged their children up to the mountains; It is the first group to be segmented as a result of the war where men and women raised their children with a rifle on their shoulder, accustoming their offspring to the use of weapons, measures of pressure and government attrition such as setting fire to public facilities, destruction of bridges, hit men, kidnappings, murders in defense of the ideals of the group, finally to the thought that the end justifies the means. Children aged 0 to 18 grew up in numerous guerrilla training camps where they were usually used as human telephones,carrying messages from one field to another since due to their young age and slight complexion they did not constitute an alarm signal for the army that despite running into one of them they would not stop him thinking that he was "someone from a nearby town", training in the use of code language, location and evasion of the army. They also understood that in every group there was always a leader who was elected democratically or by rank (many times achievements or length of membership), they had to respect both their decisions and their convictions, to the extent of bending their own reasoning, values and principles to belong to the group, above all this belonging meant offering one's life in search of the group's ideals,devaluing their people and promoting the principle of the common good over individual good, dying in combat was the unequivocal sign that the member deserved to be part of the group and that surrendering to the enemy or desertion was the disgrace and humiliation for life, a crime that was paid with the life.
Families without parents
There are three large groups within this same situation:
- When the father or mother (in some cases both) of the family left the house and joined the guerrillas or the army, after some time they disappeared and considered themselves dead, the children were left in charge. of his only parent who after some time rejoined another couple, in other cases the children were adopted by relatives such as grandparents, uncles, godparents; children were raised as an extension of a family, added but not equal, finally the ignorance of living together in their own family devalued their self-esteem; Their values and principles were survival and daily struggle in extreme conditions.When the parents or one of them was killed for their ideology,Regardless of their political ideas during the war, many people were assassinated by the guerrillas and by the army, leaving their children abandoned, those who could not adhere to a family member or responsible adult were left on the street using their own means to survive either as beggar, thief or pimp in some cases all three.Due to the situation of little work, persecution on the part of both sides, poverty, murders and crime in general, many people decided to emigrate to the United States, emerging the term that had to be the The main support to the Salvadoran economy until these days "the remittances", entire families supported by the money that they sent "from the north", different kinds of new jobs also emerged such as "the coyotes", "the encomenderos","The moneychangers" and bringing with it the introduction of a whole new culture and way of seeing society, the children grew up in the belief that someone sent the money and all they did was receive it, without realizing the work and penalties that their parent to get it.
Migrant families
In the best of cases, the person came to the United States and then sent for their spouse and children; in these cases parents and children adapted to a totally different reality and culture, a society submerged in the cold war against Russia and its allies (USSR, Cuba, Nicaragua and others); submitting to work in subhuman conditions without social security, with wages below the average, high risk, threatening the physical and moral health of people but also against life itself; While American society benefited from cheap and abundant labor, Salvadoran families tried to stay together, however, both parents working day and night, the children roamed the street, starting the first groups in defense of their neighborhoods or blocks where they lived.These groups were formed by their country of origin or the limits of the neighborhood where they lived.
1.2. The postwar period: “las maras” emerge
While in El Salvador in the nineties after the signing of the peace accords, the children who had lost their parents in the war, were divided into two large groups:
- The children who were already parents and had families of their own. The children who continued in their years of study and formed the student groups (ENCO, ITI, INFRAMEN), who stoned and beat each other in defense of their territories. Those who did not study and dedicated their time to vagrancy formed into the first two known gangs in El Salvador: the Chancleta gang and the Gallo gang.
Already in the nineties money remittances and boxes with things sent from the north were common, all families had an uncle or cousin who sent things, then another term emerged with the same impact on society, "deportees", people who had emigrated in search of the American dream, and after having committed a crime were sent back to El Salvador, most of the deportees already belonged to some type of group within their neighborhoods in the United States, their clothing and language made them They were attractive to young people who started in the gangs at that time, their stories of life in the north made them attractive for the new generations who had not left the country, the money they still had made them leaders. Every community, colony,neighborhood and inn received at least one deportee who in many cases would lead the younger ones, convincing them to join the gangs.
In this beginning, young people in most cases defended their neighborhoods, neighborhoods and institutes, their crimes were limited to staining walls and destruction of parks or public places, their robberies and extortion were limited and in most cases for small amounts.
At the end of the nineties and beginning of the two thousand, they stopped calling themselves with their original names and took what until now is their main denomination the Mara Salvatrucha MS13, and La Pandilla del Barrio 18, although the colonies were difficult to recognize according to the graffiti on the walls of the houses, on many occasions members of both sides lived in the same neighborhood or neighborhood, so fights began to the degree that the first murders arose due to rivalry between gangs, crimes also took a higher incidence and proportion to the degree of initiating a culture of fear and recurrent violence in the streets.
2. Actuality and social coexistence
Today the daily life in Salvadoran society passes between two numbers of the same denominator: the number of daily extortions and the number of deaths due to rivalry between gangs, extortions as well as murders grew disproportionately as time progressed and governments were incapable to make a common front in the actions of the gangs, or they did not measure the level that these groups would reach as such; New groups also emerged such as the MAO MAO, Maquina, Miradas, among many others that, although with a different name, their coexistence in society is the same.
Today, gang members can be broadly identified, according to their hierarchy or rank within the group:
- The Wordmen: leaders or bosses of a gang or "clica" (subgroup of the same gang), so called because their word (decisions) is above that of any other member. Assets: active members of the group have already been "skipped "(Initiates) to the gang, and they are in charge of executing the plans. Although within the Assets two more groups can be recognized: those who have not gone to jail and those who have already been imprisoned. Only Active members can get a tattoo after requesting permission from the babbler, and in any case two other active members are assigned to take care of it, just like a bodyguard would. Those who hesitate: they make up the largest group in each gang. They have not "jumped" (started) within the group so they are received, but not recognized as an active member of the group.On many occasions they are brothers, friends, acquaintances or relatives of a soldier. Inactive: they are those who, with the permission of the babbler, withdraw from the gang and its actions, they cannot "hesitate" with the members again, since they would be considered again As active, they can retire for family, economic and above all religious reasons (accept the Christian faith) in which case they must show the change they claim to have begun Retired: they are those active members who, without permission from the babbler, stop meeting with others members, move away without warning and finally tend to desert their residence, being in jail request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.are those who, with the permission of the babbler, withdraw from the gang and its actions, they cannot return to "hesitate" with the members because they would be considered as active again, they can withdraw for family, economic reasons and above all of religion (accept the Christian faith) in which case it must show the change that it claims to have begun Retired: are those active members who, without permission from the babbler, stop meeting with the other members, leave without warning and finally tend to desert their residence, being in The jail request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.are those who, with the permission of the babbler, withdraw from the gang and its actions, they cannot return to "hesitate" with the members because they would be considered as active again, they can withdraw for family, economic reasons and above all of religion (accept the Christian faith) in which case it must show the change that it claims to have begun Retired: are those active members who without permission from the babbler stop meeting with the other members, leave without warning and finally tend to desert their residence, being in The jail request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.They can retire for family, economic reasons and above all religion (accept the Christian faith) in which case they must show the change that they claim to have begun Retired: are those active members who, without permission from the babbler, stop meeting with the other members, they move away without warning and finally tend to desert their residence, being in jail request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.They can retire for family, economic reasons and above all religion (accept the Christian faith) in which case they must show the change that they claim to have begun Retired: are those active members who, without permission from the babbler, stop meeting with the other members, they move away without warning and finally tend to desert their residence, being in jail request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.While in jail they request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.While in jail they request transfer to another prison, these are considered enemies and tend to be persecuted and even killed.
The main lucrative activity of the gangs is extortions to wealthy businesses and families, for each activity they are obliged to send a quota to the babblers who are in prisons, in general this quota is fixed, although it may vary due to the fact that within the These prisons also have their own activities that generate profits, such as drug sales and extortion to other inmates. Likewise, the sale of drugs is currently generating a large upturn in gang activities, although this part will be discussed more fully in the next section on the future of gangs.
3. Future and evolution in the medium and long term
What could well have been the beginning of this study, I have decided to return to it at the end so that the reader fully understands the origin, journey and trace of gangs in society. No matter how negative or contrary it may seem, gangs, as any social group, evolve, develop, venture into other activities and finally result in stronger and more organized social groups; It is not my intention that the reader accepts these groups and forms part of them, or agrees with their way of life; but rather that he understands them and can understand the reality that the country is going through. In ancient times the first groups of people who came together did so in order to hunt bigger and fiercer prey, such as elephants and whales to take advantage of their meat and eat, lions and tigers to use their skins as clothing,These first groups were called hordes, they did not have hierarchy or social status, and their only purpose was to feed and subsist, they gave way to tribes where they organized between hunters, the elderly, women and children, by then they were already separating a family patriarch of the others establishing the first social classes, with time the divisions were increasing and the hierarchies of command and by inheritance were appearing; With the appearance of “private property” (a region of land or utensils that a person took as his exclusive use), modes of production such as slavery, monarchies and with them the first feudal lords came, then came capitalism and the first attempts at socialism and communism; the society was fragmented since then in two groups of 90-10;90% of the impoverished population and the remaining 10% with 90% of the resources called financial and production.
From the 90% of the poor, there arose throughout the world and throughout history, rebel groups or guerrillas that declared themselves against governments and leaders who oppressed the people to death; But what does all this have to do with gangs? The story of Robin Hood and his gang that robbed the rich to give to the poor in the Sherwood forests in Great Britain is still heard very often; In the Middle East, two gangs from the same father like each other a war that has been going on for thousands of years and which they call “Holy War”, in South Africa hundreds of groups still fight their territory, it happened in Japan with the triads at war against the Jacusas for hundreds of years and still continues, being able to reach high positions in government and international trade;in New York Italians against Irish in the early 1900s, now electing mayors and governors of the city; in Chicago Alcapone and the Italian mafia were transformed and now they fight from the courts; in England the Hooligans are capable of traveling continents to destroy World Cup venues and support their team; in Colombia the traffickers are now called cartels and have as much power as a ruling party; In Mexico, the gangs got tired of transferring drugs from Colombia and now they grow their own product, preventing Colombians from passing through their gulfs or lands in constant attacks. in Italy, Cosa Nostra fights the mafia; in Spain with the ETA, Russia, in China, Nigeria, Syria, Ireland, Brazil.But perhaps the most remembered of all is the gang formed in Germany and that would come to power at the beginning of the Second World War, under the leadership of a little man called the Furer Adolf Hitler the Nazis.
With the above, I make a preamble so that the reader understands the actions of gangs throughout history and that their eradication cannot be expected if not before their transformation; Given which it is logical to think that the future of the gangs will depend to a large extent on the actions that the government takes from now on, for its part, the government will try to reduce extortion with more and more police in the streets, increasing penalties and laws against such a crime, will create more divisions to investigate extortion and will even convict gang members for this and other crimes even without a complaint or victim in front of a judge, the justice system will attack until the last extortionist who is brought to trial is convicted Prosecutors will specialize in such cases, prisons will become worse and worse for that purpose;civil society, churches and NGOs will form support groups for victims of extortion and for some time (time that has already begun) it will be said that "at least and stop doing it with poor people"; and all the people in general as they did when the wave of kidnappings forgot the issue of drugs.
In no more than five years, the gangs will realize that extortion has become unprofitable for their finances, for each active member in prison must be sent money to jail, including the families if they are a babbler or a member with a long time Within the gang, the sentences are 20 to 25 years, the conditions inside are increasingly difficult, there are no criminal or judicial benefits, society receives them badly and despises them, they will balance extortions of two hundred dollars for sentences of twenty-five years for fifteen of its members, isolated they will look for a new form of profit; From their experience in the sale of drugs they will know at first that it is a highly profitable business with penalties of 10 to 20 years, with large profit margins on investment,They will remember the stories that in Colombia in villages of common peasants they defend drug traffickers and hide them since the time of Pablo Escobar Gaviria, of whom a story is told that an old woman preferred that they take her own son prisoner rather than deliver where Pablo was hiding, since that he built schools, houses, roads, etc. Finally As happened in Colombia and later in Mexico, the gangs will dedicate themselves entirely to drug trafficking, they will start in the local market by buying from Salvadoran drug gangs who bring their product on their way to the United States, after at least some time Five more years they will initiate relations with Colombian and Mexican producers directly, no longer with Salvadorans who are waiting to receive the product and orders from the cartels;In this relationship, as a first step, they will eliminate any other band or independent trafficker (those who were previously their suppliers) that transits through the country (as in Mexico the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas), they will mediate the passage of drugs by air, Sea or land, in this period of two to five years the war will be fought between old and new traffickers, one of the gangs, probably the one in the 18th neighborhood, will buy its product from the Mexicans, while the MS buys from Colombians, or vice versa, when the The only providers “authorized” to traffic in the country are the gangs, their power will increase; The authorities by then will finish eradicating extortion to a more acceptable minimum, after a time of constant fights over traffic routes they will distribute the maritime one for one land gang to another,and the rest of the smaller gangs will fight for their own route to make way, during this time the murders between groups will continue, and they will even increase in power and influence in the government.
In about fifteen or twenty years the groups that we now know as gangs will transmute into drug cartels, those that remain of them (two or three no more) will have acquired an enormous amount of power in social circles, they will have deputies at their disposal, accountants, lawyers, judges, police, government institutions and others, will own shell companies throughout the country, accounts in other countries to launder money from drug trafficking; and then they will decide that the country will no longer be just a drug step, they will begin to produce their own synthetic drugs, they will hire engineers to create their own variety and improve existing ones, their suppliers in Mexico and Colombia, although they take it provocatively, will continue to relations,Later, the gangs (cartels for that time) will close the way for any drug traffic that is not produced by themselves, they will force their clients in the United States to buy only the product that they themselves have worked in their laboratories, the Salvadoran government will he will be forced under pressure from the US government to fight trafficking; Just as in the rest of the countries, the big cartels will have accumulated so much power and money that it will be impossible to eradicate them.Just as in the rest of the countries, the big cartels will have accumulated so much power and money that it will be impossible to eradicate them.Just as in the rest of the countries, the big cartels will have accumulated so much power and money that it will be impossible to eradicate them.
4. Conclusions
- The origin of the gangs was largely the civil war of the eighties and triggered in growth by the emigration of people to the United States.The mismanagement of the governments of the nineties to the issue of gangs allowed the growth and development of such groups Civil society in the face of post-war trauma did not think that gangs would grow in the way that they have. Currently most of the population thinks of gangs as groups of criminals and gives their approval to eliminate them even using murder As a solution, El Salvador is not the only country in the world with gangs or the worst of all, the vast majority of countries have lived through this point in their history, giving way to different solutions and situations.,The past of war and geographic location is conducive to the type of reality that currently lives. Gangs have acquired an enormous amount of power, influence, money, weapons and members who obey a single objective to grow the gang. The gangs will evolve, transmuting into groups will be more organized, stronger and will be conditioned to the responses that the incoming governments make against them. The laws will be toughened, the judicial and penal systems will make real hell of the processes that are pursued against the members of the gangs. communication will continue to give different versions of reality at the convenience of the owners and governments in turn. Society will continue without power the moment it is living and the violence it faces.NGOs and aid groups will make a common front in the war against the gangs, however they will do little or nothing without being able to understand their origin and reality. The US government will force the Salvadoran to make drastic decisions for such a problem. turn) will request international aid from organizations such as the UN, OAS, PARLACEN and others, they will toughen laws, criminal laws, create specialized police groups against gangs, spend millions of dollars in all areas, do little or nothing fighting when the enemy is already filtered The smallest gangs will be eliminated, only the largest will remain who will lead the passage of drugs in the region.Members in the United States will receive the drugs they send from El Salvador and will be in charge of its sale and distribution. The gangs will eliminate the trafficking gangs after a short period of time, after having had drug buying and selling relations. to dominate the passage of drugs through the country, they will create their own varieties of synthetic drugs in private laboratories. They will restrict their customers in the United States from only buying their varieties and not that of others. The wars between gangs will go to war against drug gangs, against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and crimes with impunity will not end until civil society, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs jointly face the real problem of social inequality.The gangs will eliminate the trafficking gangs after a short period of time, after having had drug buying and selling relationships. After dominating the passage of drugs through the country, they will create their own varieties of synthetic drugs in private laboratories. that their clients in the United States only buy their varieties and not that of others. The wars between gangs will go to war against drug gangs, against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and unpunished crimes will not end until society civil, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs to jointly face the real problem of social inequality.The gangs will eliminate the trafficking gangs after a short period of time, after having had drug buying and selling relationships. After dominating the passage of drugs through the country, they will create their own varieties of synthetic drugs in private laboratories. that their clients in the United States only buy their varieties and not that of others. The wars between gangs will go to war against drug gangs, against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and unpunished crimes will not end until society civil, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs to jointly face the real problem of social inequality.After mastering the passage of drugs through the country, they will create their own varieties of synthetic drugs in private laboratories. They will restrict their customers in the United States from only buying their varieties and not those of others. The wars between gangs will go to war against the gangs of Traffickers, against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and crimes with impunity will not end until civil society, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs jointly face the real problem of social inequality.After mastering the passage of drugs through the country, they will create their own varieties of synthetic drugs in private laboratories. They will restrict their customers in the United States from only buying their varieties and not those of others. The wars between gangs will go to war against the gangs of Traffickers, against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and crimes with impunity will not end until civil society, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs jointly face the real problem of social inequality.against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and crimes with impunity will not end until civil society, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs jointly confront the real problem of social inequality.against Colombian and Mexican suppliers. The murders, massacres, torture and crimes with impunity will not end until civil society, government, churches and institutions hand in hand with the gangs jointly confront the real problem of social inequality.
5. Recommendations
- The government must detach itself from any pressure from gang members to obtain legal or criminal benefits, complying with and not violating existing laws. The media must stop lying about the condition and reality of gangs, inform and transmit correctly to the population, without political conveniences The government, despite the pressure exerted by the United States, must create its own plans and conditions and specific to the national reality The government must stop thinking about temporary conjunctures and see that the real solution lies in the social structure. Civil society must take a leading part in solving social inequality. Families, churches, government and others must take care to understand the condition, origin and future of gangs.Each person must try to do their part as an individual and at the same time as a member of a family group and society. Understanding, understanding and knowing the gangs in the context of the country does not mean accepting the criminal actions produced by them. Eliminate the fear of reporting crimes committed by gangs. Unifying the criteria of a better society does not mean accepting impunity in high places, nor the abysmal difference between rich and poor.nor the abysmal difference between rich and poor.nor the abysmal difference between rich and poor.
