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El Salvador INFRASTRUCTURE
El Salvador's infrastructure was the primary target of
guerrilla sabotage in the mid- to late 1980s. Insurgent forces of
the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo
Marti de Liberacion Nacional--FMLN) regularly damaged or
disrupted the country's transportation, communications, and
energy systems to erode the government's popularity. The front
hoped to emphasize the government's inability to move the
nation's economy, to increase the economic strain on the country,
and to create the "objective conditions" necessary for a
successful antigovernment insurrection. Guerrillas attacked a
wide variety of economic targets, from trucks and buses to
bridges, roads, and power plants, but they were not responsible
for all the damage to the infrastructure in the 1980s. A 1982
flood washed out numerous roads and bridges, and in October 1986
an earthquake severely damaged many water and power plants and
communications facilities, causing an estimated US$1 billion in
damage.
Data as of November 1988
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