The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980

This essay analysis the labor movement in Puerto Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980. The common ideological bond linking both the port labor movement and the San Salvador movement was a rudimentary syndicalism that had no formal expression either locally or nationally. The evidence pr...

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Main Author:	Gould, Jeffrey
Format:	Online
Language:	spa
Published:	Universidad de Costa Rica 2015
Online Access:	https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/dialogos/article/view/22000

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spelling	DIALOGOS220002021-11-03T17:45:26Z The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980 Gould, Jeffrey Labor movement El Salvador syndicalym organization repression This essay analysis the labor movement in Puerto Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980. The common ideological bond linking both the port labor movement and the San Salvador movement was a rudimentary syndicalism that had no formal expression either locally or nationally. The evidence presented in this essay suggests that the local and national movements in late 1970s Salvador reflected some of the attitude, technique, and strategy but not necessarily the hope of classic syndicalism. Yet, those ideological forms remained as inchoate expressions. Moreover, the syndicalists of El Salvador labored under authoritarian and increasingly terroristic conditions unimaginable to the founders of the tradition. The arrests, tortures, and assassinations not only provoked militant responses but also imposed the necessity for semi clandestine action that made the full implementation of rank and file democracy —a sine qua non for syndicalism— extremely difficult to achieve. The disjunctions between the syndicalist ethos and formal ideological expressions in the port and in the capital had several consequences. First they led to misunderstandings and alienation between the different groups. But at the same time, these various dialectical interplays between formal and informal discourse, between rank and file and leadership, and between the port and the metropole all played significant roles inthe militant rise and expansion of the labor movement. The essay will trace this broader transformation while presenting a detailed examination of the political and social changes in Puerto El Triunfo, a quite distinct history that nevertheless reflected, influenced and paralleled the labor movement as a whole. I will make use of the concept of “desencuentro”. Universidad de Costa Rica 2015-11-24 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Contribution application/pdf text/html https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/dialogos/article/view/22000 10.15517/dre.v0i0.22000 Diálogos. Revista Electrónica de Historia; Vol. 16 (2015): Special Volume: Memory, Narrative and Rites in Latin America; 101-144 Diálogos. Revista Electrónica de Historia; Vol. 16 (2015): Volumen Especial: Memoria, Narrativa y Ritos en América Latina; 101-144 Diálogos; Vol. 16 (2015): Volumen Especial: Memoria, Narrativa y Ritos en América Latina; 101-144 1409-469X 2215-3292 spa https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/dialogos/article/view/22000/22182 https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/dialogos/article/view/22000/22202 Derechos de autor 2015 Diálogos Revista Electrónica
institution	Universidad de Costa Rica
collection	Revista Electrónica de Historia
language	spa
format	Online
author	Gould, Jeffrey
spellingShingle	Gould, Jeffrey The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
author_facet	Gould, Jeffrey
author_sort	Gould, Jeffrey
description	This essay analysis the labor movement in Puerto Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980. The common ideological bond linking both the port labor movement and the San Salvador movement was a rudimentary syndicalism that had no formal expression either locally or nationally. The evidence presented in this essay suggests that the local and national movements in late 1970s Salvador reflected some of the attitude, technique, and strategy but not necessarily the hope of classic syndicalism. Yet, those ideological forms remained as inchoate expressions. Moreover, the syndicalists of El Salvador labored under authoritarian and increasingly terroristic conditions unimaginable to the founders of the tradition. The arrests, tortures, and assassinations not only provoked militant responses but also imposed the necessity for semi clandestine action that made the full implementation of rank and file democracy —a sine qua non for syndicalism— extremely difficult to achieve. The disjunctions between the syndicalist ethos and formal ideological expressions in the port and in the capital had several consequences. First they led to misunderstandings and alienation between the different groups. But at the same time, these various dialectical interplays between formal and informal discourse, between rank and file and leadership, and between the port and the metropole all played significant roles inthe militant rise and expansion of the labor movement. The essay will trace this broader transformation while presenting a detailed examination of the political and social changes in Puerto El Triunfo, a quite distinct history that nevertheless reflected, influenced and paralleled the labor movement as a whole. I will make use of the concept of “desencuentro”.
title	The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
title_short	The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
title_full	The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
title_fullStr	The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
title_full_unstemmed	The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980
title_sort	cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in puerto el triunfo and greater san salvador in 1979 and 1980
publisher	Universidad de Costa Rica
publishDate	2015
url	https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/dialogos/article/view/22000
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The cost of solidarity: the salvadoran labor movement in Puerto el Triunfo and Greater San Salvador in 1979 and 1980

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