Ana María (17 May 1929 – 6 April 1983) was the
nom-de-guerre of Dr. Mélida Anaya Montes, the second in command of the
Fuerzas Populares de Liberación Farabundo Martí (FPL), the oldest of the five guerrilla organizations making up the
FMLN, in
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of 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 by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
.
An intellectual, she was considered as an icon among revolutionary women in the region. Eventually she was killed by her own comrades on April 6, 1983, in Managua, Nicaragua.
Later, the FMLN blamed its leader
Cayetano Carpio (sometimes referred to as the "
Ho Chi Minh
(born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
of Latin America") as the person responsible for the crime, and he committed suicide. Though he was not in Nicaragua at the time, many believe his stance created a situation that led Ana María's associates to assassinate her.
Early life
She was born in the small town of
Santiago Texacuangos, in the central zone of El Salvador.
Ana María received her Doctorate of Education from the
University of El Salvador, where she became a professor of education and gave classes in the 1960s. She was the assistant director of the Alberto Masferrer University.
In 1965, Anaya Montes founded the National Association of El Salvadorian Teachers (ANDES), also known as 21 de Junio, after its first demonstration in 1965. She led the strikes of educators in 1968 and 1971, which created major trouble for the government of general
Fidel Sánchez Hernández
Fidel Sánchez Hernández (7 July 1917 – 28 February 2003) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador from 1967 to 1972. During his rule, Sánchez Hernández faced war and economic turmoil.
Mili ...
.
In 1970, the ex-Secretary General of the
Communist Party of El Salvador,
Salvador Cayetano Carpio founded the first guerrilla detachment of El Salvador: the People's Liberation Forces Farabundo Martí (FPL).
Assassination
The murder of Anaya Montes was caused by a deep division that had developed within the FMLN. The majority, led by Ana María, favoured negotiation with the government. The hard line faction opposed any negotiation with the government of El Salvador, and supported a prolonged war. This faction was led by Commander
Salvador Cayetano Carpio.
On 6 April 1983, Ana María was murdered at her home in
Managua, Nicaragua
Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...
. Her assassins stabbed her 83 times with an ice pick, and then slashed her neck.
Nicaraguan authorities later apprehended the murderers and found them to be members of the FMLN. Rogelio Bazzaglia later confessed to Ana María's murder, stating he was under orders from Carpio, although later retracting it. After her burial and upon hearing the news that he was implicated in masterminding Ana María's murder, Carpio committed suicide in his home.
Legacy
Ana María is considered an iconic example for educators and those struggling against oppression, especially in El Salvador. The Melida Anaya Montes Language School in
San Salvador
San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...
, which uses
popular education
Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle, critical theory and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. ...
techniques highlights social justice issues, is named for her.
Mélida Anaya Montes Women's Movement (MAM) was created in 1992 to defend women's rights.
See also
*
History of El Salvador
The history of El Salvador begins with several distinct groups of Mesoamerican people, especially the Pipil people, Pipil, the Lenca and the Maya people, Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating ...
*
Comandante Clelia
References
Further reading
*
External links
FMLN(in Spanish)
MAM Las Mélidas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ana María
1929 births
1983 deaths
People from San Salvador Department
Salvadoran revolutionaries
Salvadoran communists
Women in the Salvadoran Civil War
Female guerrillas
Assassinated Salvadoran politicians
People murdered in Nicaragua
Deaths by stabbing in Nicaragua
People of the Salvadoran Civil War
Salvadoran people murdered abroad
University of El Salvador alumni
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front politicians
20th-century Salvadoran women politicians
20th-century Salvadoran politicians
Female murder victims
1983 crimes in Nicaragua
1983 murders in North America
1980s murders in Nicaragua
North American politicians assassinated in the 1980s
Politicians assassinated in 1983