1939 Salvadoran presidential election

Background

General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez became President of El Salvador in December 1931 after a coup d'état overthrew President Arturo Araujo and established a military dictatorship. Martínez solidified his position in January 1932 after suppressing an uprising and killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people in mass killings known as La Matanza. Martínez won the 1935 presidential election unopposed with 329,555 on 77 percent turnout.

Election campaign

Ahead of the 1939 election, Martínez decided to be elected by the legislature in an indirect election instead of through a popular vote like in 1935. According to historian Erik Ching, Martínez chose to do this as he was "aware of growing opposition to his political monopoly". In order to be re-elected, however, Martínez had to amend the 1886 constitution as it prohibited re-election.

In July 1938, open cabildos were held across El Salvador where citizens would meet at town halls and approve proposed constitutional changes. The National Pro Patria Party ("National Party of the Fatherland", PNPP), the only legal political party in El Salvador, organized the meetings and reported that the citizenry was in unanimous support of the proposed changes despite no voting actually taking place.

The PNPP reported that Salvadoran citizens overwhelmingly supported the constitutional reforms and that there were "popular" rallies and parades leading up to the election. Meanwhile, some political leaders opposed Martínez's re-election. Among them were Sub-Secretary of Public Works Manuel López Harrison, Sub-Secretary of Government Hermógenes Alvarado, Sub-Secretary of Public Instruction David Rosales, and Sub-Secretary of War Colonel Ascencio Menéndez. In October 1938, a so-called "Civilian-Military Association" spread propaganda posters across Santa Ana calling for Martínez's resignation. In January 1939, Menéndez led an attempted coup against Martínez's government but it failed. The conspirators were exiled to France and Mexico.

The National Constitutional Assembly approved the new constitution on 20 January 1939. Most of the new constitution was identical to the 1886 constitution. One of the most notable differences regards article 92 that mandates that the National Constitutional Assembly would elect the next president and that whoever they elect would be exempted from article 94 that banned re-election. It also increased the lengths of presidential terms from four to six years.

Results

On 21 January 1939, the National Constitutional Assembly convened to elect El Salvador's president for the 1939–1945 term. The assembly unanimously voted to re-elected Martínez as President.

Aftermath

Martínez was inaugurated for his third term on 1 March 1939. Martínez was re-elected by the legislature to another six-year term in 1944 but he was forced to resign on 8 May 1944 during the Strike of Fallen Arms, a student protest that opposed his government. Martínez subsequently fled El Salvador on 11 May. The military itself continued to rule the country until the 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état.

References

Bibliography