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Glossary -- El Salvador
- Central America
- Region between Mexico and Panama including present-day Belize,
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
- Central American Common Market (CACM)
- The CACM was established by the Organization of Central American
States under the General Treaty of Central American Economic
Integration signed in Managua, Nicaragua, on December 15, 1960. Its
members include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and
Nicaragua. Its original goals included the establishment of a
Central American regional free-trade area, a customs union, and the
integration of the industrialization efforts of its member
countries. Its efforts were curtailed following the 1969 war between
El Salvador and Honduras, when the Hondurans reestablished import
duties on CACM products. Despite the continued existence of the
organization, most intraregional economic relations have been
handled on a bilateral basis since 1970.
- colon
- El Salvador's monetary unit, divided into 100 centavos. The
colon was pegged by the government at US$1=C2.50 until November
1986, when it was officially devalued to US$1=C5 as part of an
overall economic austerity package. As of late 1988, there was no
parallel exchange market, but dollars could be traded at a higher
rate on the black market.
- Constituent Assembly
- A deliberative body made up of elected delegates who are charged
with the responsibility of drafting a new constitution and, in some
instances, electing a new president. Traditionally, after it has
completed its work a Constituent Assembly reverts to a Legislative
Assembly (traditional title of Salvadoran legislatures), which then
serves as the country's legislative body until the next scheduled
elections.
- encomienda
- A fiduciary grant of tribute collection rights over Indians
conferred by the Spanish crown on individual colonists, who in turn
undertook to maintain order and propagate Christianity.
- fiscal year (FY)
- El Salvador's fiscal year is the calendar year. Where reference
is made to United States aid appropriations or disbursements, the
United States government's fiscal year is used, which runs from
October 1 to September 30, with the date of reference drawn from the
year in which the period ends. For example, FY 1987 began on October
1, 1986, and ended on September 30, 1987.
- gross domestic product (GDP)
- A measure of the total value of goods and services produced by
the domestic economy during a given period, usually one year.
Obtained by adding the value contributed by each sector of the
economy in the form of profits, compensation to employees, and
depreciation (consumption of capital). Only domestic production is
included, not income arising from investments and possessions owned
abroad, hence the use of the word domestic to distinguish
GDP from gross national product (q.v.).
- gross national product (GNP)
- The total market value of all final goods and services produced
by an economy during a year. Obtained by adding the gross domestic
product (q.v.) and the income received from abroad by
residents and subtracting payments remitted abroad to nonresidents.
- import substitution industrialization
- An economic development strategy that emphasizes the growth of
domestic industries, often by import protection using tariff and
nontariff measures. Proponents favor the export of industrial goods
over primary products.
- International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
- Established along with the World Bank (q.v.) in 1945,
the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the United Nations
that takes responsibility for stabilizing international exchange
rates and payments. The main business of the IMF is the provision of
loans to its members when they experience balance of payments
difficulties. These loans often carry conditions that require
substantial internal economic adjustments by the recipients.
- Legislative Assembly
- See Constituent Assembly.
- liberation theology
- An activist movement led by Roman Catholic clergy who trace
their inspiration to Vatican Council II (1965), where some church
procedures were liberalized, and the Second Latin American Bishops'
Conference in Medellin, Colombia (1968), which endorsed greater
direct efforts to improve the lot of the poor. Advocates of
liberation theology--sometimes referred to as "liberationists"--work
mainly through Christian Base Communities (Comunidades Eclesiasticas
de Base--CEBs). Members of CEBs meet in small groups to reflect on
scripture and discuss its meaning in their lives. They are
introduced to a radical interpretation of the Bible, one that
employs Marxist terminology to analyze and condemn the wide
disparities between the wealthy elite and the impoverished masses in
most underdeveloped countries. This reflection often leads members
to organize to improve their living standards through cooperatives
and civic improvement projects.
- repartimiento
- Derived from Spanish verb repartir (to divide up); a
loosely regulated system under which Spanish colonial authorities
were empowered to impose and regulate the labor of Indians.
- terms of trade
- Number of units that must be given up for one unit of goods
received by each party, e.g., nation, to a transaction. The terms of
trade are said to move in favor of the party that gives up fewer
units of goods than it did previously for one unit of goods
received, and against the party that gives up more units of goods
for one unit of goods received. In international economics, the
concept plays an important role in evaluating exchange relationships
between nations.
- World Bank
- Informal name used to designate a group of three affiliated international
institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD),
the International Development Association (IDA), and the International Finance
Corporation (IFC). The IBRD, established in 1945, has the primary purpose
of providing loans to developing countries for productive projects. The IDA,
a legally separate loan fund administered by the staff of the IBRD, was set
up in 1960 to furnish credits to the poorest developing countries on much
easier terms than those of conventional IBRD loans. The IFC, founded in 1956,
supplements the activities of the IBRD through loans and assistance designed
specifically to encourage the growth of productive private enterprises in
less-developed countries. The president and certain senior officers of the
IBRD hold the same positions in the IFC. The three institutions are owned
by the governments of the countries that subscribe their capital. To participate
in the World Bank group, member states must first belong to the IMF (q.v.).
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