Changing Women, Changing Nation: Female Agency, Nationhood, and Identity in Trans-Salvadoran Narratives

Chapter 3: Setting La diabla Free: Women, Violence, and the Struggle for Representation in Postwar El Salvador

Chapter 3 Setting La diabla Free Women, Violence, and the Struggle for Representation in Postwar El Salvador The signing of the Peace Accords in 1992 marked the end of El Salvador’s twelve-year civil war and initiated a new phase of “reform.” Similar to Southern Cone countries that had begun the process of national reconstruction a decade earlier, El Salvador adopted a neoliberal model of modernization consisting of political democratization by way of open and competitive elections and the introduction of new economic policies and initiatives.1 The latter, which include “trade liberalization, devaluation of the currency, privatizations, the lifting of subsidies, the promotion of non-traditional exports, and the expansion of free trade zones and maquiladora activities,” have been implemented under the auspices of the right—in particular, a faction of young entrepreneurs and technocrats within the ranks of the Nationalist Republic Alliance Party (ARENA), which has displaced the long-standing oligarchy (Robinson 96). Despite what seem to be positive changes in the Salvadoran political and economic systems, recent studies suggest that the new neoliberal agenda has not only failed to ameliorate existing social and economic problems but also has reproduced and, in many cases, exacerbated them.2 The demobilization of both the FMLN and the National Guard, coupled with the failure to properly implement the stipulated agrarian reforms, has led to an increase in unemployment and poverty. The growth of the informal sector and remittances from abroad, phenomena well established during the civil conflict, continue to be integral parts of the national economy. All the while, violence continues to escalate, and severe cutbacks in government programs and social services, especially at a time when popular demands 71 72 / Changing Women, Changing Nation are at their highest, have led to an individualist mentality of “sálvese quien pueda” [everyone for themselves] (Vilas 317). In addition to the social and political changes spurred by the advent of neoliberalism, the postwar period in El Salvador has been characterized by a significant cultural renovation, which has, in turn, prompted a questioning and reconfiguration of Salvadoran national identity.3 Along with the promotion of Salvadoran classics by privately funded printing presses, there has been a resurgence of literary magazines and cultural supplements in daily periodicals.4 State-funded institutions such as the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte (CONCULTURA) have also taken a prominent role in the dissemination of new and well-known literary texts. Perhaps one of the most notable occurrences, however, has been a rise in literary production, particularly works of fiction. Whereas these new texts do not share the sense of socialist purpose or exhibit the urgency of the testimonial narratives and poetry of the 1970s and 1980s, they are still very much engaged with the precise historical moment from which they emerge, providing a critical view of neoliberal modernization, the basis for projects of national consolidation in the postrevolutionary period. For literary critic Beatriz Cortez, this critique takes the form of “an aesthetic of cynicism” (Estética de cinismo). Gone are the utopian and idealistic notions of rural communal action and solidarity promoted by revolutionary movements and prevalent in texts from that period. The disillusionment, pessimism, and violence that permeate El Salvador’s postwar literature call into question the so-called successful implementation of neoliberal alternatives and “reforms” as well as the type of citizen and emergent nation that have resulted. With their often stark and disparaging portrayals of neoliberal social reality, these narratives suggest that freemarket doctrine has created rather than attenuated disparity and that the transition toward democracy is plagued by the persistent discriminatory and oppressive practices of the past. Not all Central Americans are conceived of as equal citizens, nor are they all viewed as part of the Central American identity that is being redefined and reimagined. Among the peripheral figures who inhabit these texts are ex-soldiers turned drug traffickers or assassins for hire, ex-guerrillas turned “shady” cops or bodyguards, emigrants disgusted with their fellow countrymen, and corrupt politicians. Women also figure among these protagonists, but unlike their male counterparts, they are often depicted as passive victims of male violence and abuse. Furthermore, they continue to be cast in traditional gender roles such as mother, wife, or prostitute. Ironically, even though many of these texts use women to question the neoliberal project of modernization and national reconstruction, they Setting La diabla Free / 73 do not necessarily challenge the exclusion...