Parliamentary political configuration in El Salvador and Guatemala and its impact on the states capture strategies by economic elites in both countries

Abstract

In the Central American context, El Salvador and Guatemala have socials, economic, and political problems, which are common, but they have different parliamentarian configurations. On one side, El Salvador is bipartisan, whereas Guatemala on the other side is multi-parties. The bipartisanship origin in El Salvador dates back to the Salvadoran armed conflict or civil war which began between 1979 – 1980 and ended with the signing of the Peace Accords. In the case of Guatemala, the variety of ethnic-racial composition and other political- electoral facts have caused the creation of a high number of political parties. There are different levels of State capture and strategies from economic and political elites in every country; moreover, of the parliamentarian configuration, there are practices that are not very usual. The scope of the Guatemalan State capture is the highest, whereas El Salvador is at a middle level. The Guatemalan elite is one the most extractive and hoarding in the region, only at the Honduran level. In El Salvador, the economic groups make use of the discursive power with some political power practices. Both elites have known to be adapted to the configuration of the parliaments in their countries, and take advantage of it in strategies of capturing the State.