Enrique Álvarez Córdova
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Enrique Álvarez Córdova (March 4, 1930,
San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
– November 27, 1980,
San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
) was a
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and statesman of
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
.


Biography

Enrique was the son of one of El Salvador's ruling families. He was intelligent, charismatic and wealthy. His mother was surnamed Córdova. Álvarez attended
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in
New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...
(Gamma Upsilon). After a frustrated attempt to be a Salvadoran "
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
er," attempting to implement agrarian reform as El Salvador's minister of
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
and cattle raising, Álvarez dramatically changed course and joined the Democratic Revolutionary Front (''Frente Democrático Revolucionário'' or ''FDR'').


Death

On November 27th, 1980, Álvarez and five other FDR directors were kidnapped from a meeting in El Salvador's capital,
San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
. According to the November 29th, 1980 issue of
El Diario de Hoy ''Diario de Hoy'' is a morning newspaper in El Salvador. It is published in San Salvador and circulates throughout the country. It also has an open online edition. The director of ''El Diario de Hoy'' is Enrique Altamirano Madriz, its executive ...
cited by former Dartmouth researcher John W. Lamperti, their bodies were discovered outside the capital on November 28th. Enrique himself had "sustained twelve bullet wounds: ten in the back, one in the head and one in the arm, plus three other wounds in the back."https://math.dartmouth.edu/~lamperti/centralamerica_presente.html Enrique Alvarez: ¡ Presente !


Aftermath

The right-wing extremist group Maximiliano Hernández Martínez Anti-Communist Brigade (''Brígada Anticomunista Maximiliano Hernández Martínez'') claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and subsequent murders. Given the volatile situation present at the time, the crime sparked public outcry, curtailing hopes for a political solution to the
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
, which began that same year. Despite denying any involvement, in 1993 the post-
Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...
United Nations Truth Commission reported a strong connection between high level government security forces and Enrique's murder, however it was unable to identify the perpetrators. Enrique was later described by San Salvador
archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
member Monsignor Ricardo Urioste as "the first rich man who gave his life for the poor of El Salvador."Lamperti, ibid., quoting Msgr. Ricardo Urioste.
/ref>


Sources


Daily Latin Co.


Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Cordova, Enrique 1930 births 1980 deaths People from San Salvador Agriculture ministers of El Salvador Rutgers University alumni Assassinated Salvadoran politicians People murdered in El Salvador 1980 crimes in El Salvador 1980 murders in North America 1980s murders in El Salvador