In 1838 the federation of Central America was dissolved and El Salvador, along with many other Central American countries, gained full independence. Continuing in the tension between the indigenous people and upper classes, the government adopted a one-side constitution favoring the wealthy land owners. For the rest of the 1800s the constitution was continuously amended, but always maintaining power in the hands of the wealthy land owners. This subjugated both the indigenous people as well as the middle classes.
The most obvious alteration of these disagreements and the importance of arable land came with the shift of exporting indigo to exporting coffee. As indigo was no longer demanded coffee became the country's most valuable crop and the wealthy land owners abandoned some lands and took others in order to control the most favorable lands to grow the crop of importance at the time. This releasing and taking of land truly magnified the power the land owning class held.
The next example of power being held firmly and solely at the top of the economic scale came in 1931 when General Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez took power in a coup. Hernandez Martinez suppressed the people to the point that the indigenous people, along with others rose up to fight the dictator. With no true support, money, weapons, or power, the reaction brought about by Hernandez Martinez became known as "la matanza" (the slaughter), killing nearly 30,000 people.
Despite Hernandez Martinez's removal from power in 1944, the country has retained little stability from 1931 to 1980. The country was ruled over by military dictator after military dictator, some of whom came to power through coups, others of whom came to power through unfair elections. This instability peaked in the 1970s when Jose Napoleon Duarte lost a presidential bid, which many claim was rigged and hence revolts began. After Napoleon Duarte was exiled by the government democratic methods of change were almost wholly pushed aside for a military uprising.
In 1979 a new government took power, with whom no group truly agreed, leading to civil war. This civil war crossed borders as the domestic groups were divided by political leanings and hence foreign powers tried to encourage their political leaning groups, essentially becoming a communist or anti-communist revolution from an outside perspective. This civil war lasted until the early 1990s, when peace was finally established.
The peace that prevailed from the war removed power from the military and put that power into the hands of the people to a greater degree. Trials also began against individuals from all groups who proved themselves to be inhuman and violators of numerous human rights during the wars, however few of these people have actually be tried or imprisoned for these crimes. This peace settlement also shifted land ownership in many ways.
Since the end of civil war the government has been working on de-militarizing and has privatized numerous institutions and companies. Although progress has been made in these areas, the economy and culture has been strained by the return of numerous Salvadorans who fled during the war. This has led to greater unemployment and the opportunity to find work as drug traffickers, an industry that is sadly growing as the country sits between the source of these drugs (South America) and the users demanding the product (primarily the United States and Canada).