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From El Salvador to Australia FROM EL SALVADOR TO AUSTRALIA: A 20TH CENTURY EXODUS TO A PROMISED LAND Submitted by: Beatriz Santos B.A.; Dip. Rel. Sci.; M. Soc. Sci. (Family Studies) A thesis submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Arts and Sciences Faculty of Arts and Sciences Australian Catholic University Research Services Locked Bag 4115 Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Australia 2006 i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. V DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... VI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................VII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................................................................................ VIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................1 AIMS OF THE THESIS .........................................................................................................7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THESIS........................................................................................9 LIMITATIONS OF THE THESIS........................................................................................10 PART I: THE HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SYSTEMS OF EL SALVADOR....................................................................11 CHAPTER 2: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................12 MODERNISATION THEORY............................................................................................13 DEPENDENCY THEORY ..................................................................................................15 Types of Dependence........................................................................................................16 WORLD-SYSTEMS THEORY ...........................................................................................17 Further Expansion of the World-Economy.......................................................................20 Pillars of the World-Economy ..........................................................................................21 ELITE THEORY ..................................................................................................................24 Elites in Latin American Context .....................................................................................25 FOCO THEORY OF REVOLUTION..................................................................................25 Aim of the Revolution .......................................................................................................26 Stages of Formation .........................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 3: THE ROOTS OF THE POLITICAL CRISIS.........................................29 EL SALVADOR UNDER COLONIAL RULE....................................................................29 The Expansion of the European World-Economy ............................................................30 El Salvador Under Colonial Rule (1524-1820)................................................................31 Incorporation into the World-Economy ...........................................................................32 Political and Social Systems.............................................................................................35 System of Government ......................................................................................................35 INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN .......................................................................................38 From Republic to “Coffee Oligarchy”.............................................................................38 Links in the World-Economy ............................................................................................40 Changes in Land Tenure ..................................................................................................41 Increase in Popular Rebellions ........................................................................................42 THE MODERNISATION OF EL SALVADOR ..................................................................44 THE GOVERNMENT UNDER MILITARY RULE ...........................................................47 Escalation of Political Crisis............................................................................................49 A People’s Revolution to Effect Change ..........................................................................50 CHAPTER 4: THE STANCE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE IMPACT OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY IN THE POLITICAL CRISIS...................53 MISSIONARY EXPANSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.........................................54 Religion, Politics and Economics.....................................................................................54 Changes after Independence ............................................................................................57 The Renewal in the Catholic Church................................................................................58 The Price of Taking a ‘Preferential Option for the Poor’................................................60 THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ‘SPHERE OF INFLUENCE’........................................62 ii The Policy of ‘Containment of Communism’ ...................................................................62 The Training of the Military .............................................................................................63 THE CONSEQUENCES OF WAR......................................................................................66 CHAPTER 5: AUSTRALIA’S IMMIGRATION PROGRAMMES AND SERVICES.69 THE IMMIGRATION PROGRAMME – A SHORT HISTORY.........................................70 Immigration Restriction Act of 1901 ................................................................................71 The Migration Act 1958....................................................................................................72 Australian Citizenship ......................................................................................................73 Criteria for Acceptance ....................................................................................................74 ECONOMIC RATIONALISM - A MICRO-ECONOMIC AGENDA ................................74 Immigration and Economic Rationalism..........................................................................75 REFUGEES IN THE WORLD.............................................................................................78 Settlement of Refugees in Australia..................................................................................79 Services for Newly Arrived Refugees ...............................................................................81 PART II: THE RESEARCH STUDY...............................................................................86 CHAPTER 6: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY....................................87 AIM OF THE STUDY..........................................................................................................87 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY......................................................................................88 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY........................................................................................88 RESEARCH DESIGN..........................................................................................................88 Quantitative Methods .......................................................................................................89 Qualitative Methods .........................................................................................................90 Types of Interviews ...........................................................................................................91 Narrative Methodology ....................................................................................................92 Sampling Methods ............................................................................................................95 Participants ......................................................................................................................96 Interview Process and Transcription ...............................................................................97 Confidentiality ..................................................................................................................97 The Role of the Researcher...............................................................................................99 CHAPTER 7: EXPERIENCES OF SALVADORANS IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY AND IN THE COUNTRY OF FIRST ASYLUM..............................................................101 THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONFLICT IN EL SALVADOR ............101 Experiences of the Political Crisis .................................................................................102 Causes of the Conflict.....................................................................................................103 Living through Terror.....................................................................................................107 Bombings, Disappearances, Repressions and Killings ..................................................112
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