Palm Sunday Coup

The Palm Sunday Coup (Spanish: golpe de estado del Domingo de Ramos) was an attempted military coup d'état in El Salvador which occurred in early-April 1944. The coup was staged by pro-Axis sympathizers in the Salvadoran Army against President General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez.

Palm Sunday Coup
Part of World War II
Soldiers in San Salvador during the coup attempt.
Date 2–3 April 1944 Location El Salvador Result Coup suppressed
Belligerents
Military government Loyal armed forces	Rebel armed forces
Commanders and leaders
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez Andrés Ignacio Menéndez	Unknown
Units involved
Salvadoran Army	First Infantry Regiment Second Artillery Regiment Salvadoran Air Force

Background

General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez became president of El Salvador following a military coup d'état on 4 December 1931 against President Arturo Araujo and the dissolution of the Civic Directory.^[1] During the lead up to World War II, Hernández Martínez heavily sympathized with Germany and Italy.^[2] Despite his sympathies for the Axis, El Salvador joined the Allies on 8 December 1941 following the Attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.^[2][3][4]

Coup

Hernández Martínez held an election in January 1944 and was reelected to a third term as President.^[5] His action angered many businessmen, politicians, and military officer since he blatantly violated the Constitution.^[6]

On 2 April 1944, military officers who had pro-Axis sympathies from the 1st Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Artillery Regiment initiated a coup against Hernández Martínez.^[6] The coup started on Palm Sunday and most senior military and government officials were either at home or attending church.^[6][7] The rebels rose up in the departments of San Salvador and Santa Ana.^[7] They took control of the national radio station and the police headquarters of Santa Ana during the coup.^[7] The Salvadoran Air Force joined the conspirators and bombed the city of Santa Ana while the army attacked civilians and overthrew the local government.^[7]

By the end of the day, Hernández Martínez ordered military units still loyal to him to crush the revolt.^[7] The coup was suppressed on 3 April, martial law was declared, and a national curfew was put in place.^[7]

Aftermath

Following the coup attempt, Hernández Martínez initiated reprisals that lasted for two weeks.^[7] Civilian protestors eventually forced Hernández Martínez to resign on 9 May in the Strike of Fallen Arms.^[7][8]

See also

• Strike of Fallen Arms

References

Citations

1. Grieb 1971, pp. 154–155.
2. Haggerty 1990, p. 17. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHaggerty1990 (help)
3. Astilla 1976, p. 184. sfn error: no target: CITEREFAstilla1976 (help)
4. Armstrong & Shenk 1982, p. 34.
5. Nohlen 2005, p. 287.
6. Haggerty 1990, p. 18. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHaggerty1990 (help)
7. Zunes, Stephen (October 2010). . Nonviolent Conflict. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
8. Ackerman, Peter; DuVall, Jack (2015). A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-violent Conflict. St. Martin's Press. pp. 256–263.

Bibliography

• Armstrong, Robert & Shenk, Janet (1982). El Salvador: The Face of Revolution. Boston: South End Press. ISBN 0896081389.
• Carmelo Francisco Esmeralda Astilla (1976). "The Martinez Era: Salvadoran-American Relations, 1931-1944". Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College.
• Grieb, Kenneth J. (1971). "The United States and the Rise of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez". Journal of Latin American Studies. 3 (2): 151–172. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00001425. JSTOR 156558.
• Federal Research Division Library of Congress (1990). Haggerty, Richard A. (ed.). El Salvador: A Country Study (PDF). Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
• Nohlen, Dieter (2005). Elections in the Americas: A Data Handbook. Vol. 1.