Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–11, Part 1, Documents on Mexico; Central America; and the Caribbean, 1973–1976

154. Telegram 37 From the Embassy in El Salvador to the Department of State¹

San Salvador, January 4, 1974, 1710Z.

37. Subj: The Molina Government: Some Thoughts for 1974 on Prospects and U.S. Interests. USCINCSO for POLAD.

1. In its first year and a half in office, the Molina government has proven to be basically similar in philosophy to the two preceding regimes of the PCN: Middle class, mildly reformist, anti-radical, flexible and pragmatic. Molina himself has been more authoritative and decisive than many had expected; however, his rhetoric has outdistanced his achievements to date, which is not surprising given the scope of the problems faced by El Salvador and the limited resources at hand.

2. In 1974, the administration’s policies and programs will continue to be influenced by its perception of the Salvadoran reality, and a paramount objective will be the maintenance of the stability of the regime itself; thus, maintaining cordial relations between the government and the Armed Forces will remain a consideration of major importance. Efforts will continue to develop a broader political consensus for the government, especially in the countryside. Economic and social development issues will represent major challenges but efforts in these fields will be tempered by the political considerations noted above and radical reform programs are unlikely. On the international scene, El Salvador’s relations with the rest of Central America will be of major importance with the Honduras/Salvador dispute continuing to be key to the issue. The failure of any future negotiations could conceivably produce a domestic backlash against Honduras that would make eventual settlement even more remote and perhaps, even adversely affect El Salvador’s relations with its other neighbors.

3. The role for the U.S. in the Salvadoran scheme of things will remain limited in 1974, given the lack of major U.S. interests, the modest level of U.S. assistance programs and the nature of the issues that the GOES will face. Recalling the somewhat uneven state of the U.S./Salvadoran relations that marked the outset of the Molina regime, occasional reassurances of the friendly ties that exist between the two governments would seem prudent as would the continuation of a modest assistance program to demonstrate U.S. goodwill. On domestic political questions, there is little that the U.S. can, need or should do so long as the GOES does not resort to flagrant repression of the legitimate opposition during or after the scheduled legislative/municipal election process. The U.S. ability to advance a settlement of the Honduras/Salvador dispute will also remain limited although the U.S. can contribute somewhat to regional stability, as it has, by encouraging peaceful settlement of disputes and by serving as an informal channel of communication to clarify intentions and actions of one side toward the other.

4. A more detailed analysis of the prospects for 1974 is found in Embassy’s A–1 of Jan 4, 1974.

Moskowitz

1. Summary: The Embassy reviewed the record of Salvadoran President Molina after a year and a half in office and noted that the U.S. role in El Salvador would remain small in 1974, given the lack of major U.S. interests in the country.

   Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, [no film number]. Confidential. Repeated to Tegucigalpa, Managua, San José, and USCINCSO.