The United States: Protagonist or Mediator?

Abstract

The election of President George H. W. Bush in November 1988 and his choice of James Baker as Secretary of State, introduced a reevaluation of U.S. policy toward Central America.1 The change was notable because it sought to end the bitter acrimony between the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as the struggle between the executive and congressional branches over funding to sustain allies in Nicaragua and El Salvador’s civil wars. The strategic shift addressed the domestic problem of a deeply divisive foreign policy. It also sought congressional consensus where previously there had been innate suspicion, if not hostility. However, the impact of this change upon the protagonists of El Salvador’s decade-long civil war is debatable. To what extent did Washington lessen its support for the Salvadoran government?