Publication

This report explains the high levels of post-civil war levels of violence in El Salvador despite positive socio-economic and political indicators. It highlights the exceptionally high volume of Salvadoran migration, most notably to the US, and points to the high value of remittances within the socioeconomic structure. The author points to the related loss of importance of local production and labor and correlates the rates of remittances to the levels of violence. Furthermore, the paper illustrates the poor performance and repressive behavior of the security sector in terms of strategies and institutions alike.