Central America Update
April 1982 issue - Periodical profile published 1982

Publisher:  Latin American Working Group and Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1982
Pages:  16pp   Price:  $1-/yr individ.; $25/yr institutions   Resource Type:  Serial Publication (Periodical)
Cx Number:  CX2527

Abstract: 
Central America Update (incorporating Nicaragua Update) is issued six times a year as a joint publication of the Latin America Working Group and the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, both of Toronto. Articles provide a summary and analysis of recent events in Central America and the response to those events by various actors in the the international community.
The April 1982 issue includes a feature article on the March 1982 coup in Guatemala. It concludes that the exposure of fragmentation and weakness among the country's right-wing civilian and military sectors, coupled with the fact of a resurgent and more unified armed opposition "will undoubtedly prompt Washington to fully back the imposition of a military solution on the Guatemala people". This may mean that the coup "could be the same political watershed that El Salvador's October 1979 coup turned out to be".
Other articles assess the current positon of the FMLN forces in El Salvador, the political situation in the wake of the March elections, and the continuing disturbances in the Atlantic Coast area of Nicaragua. Included is an outline of the range of U.S. non-diplomatic policy options being considered by America intelligence and military strategists in an effort to ensure that U.S.economic and strategic interests in the region are not threatened. Another article evaluates Canada's foreign policy with regard to El Salvador and suggests alternatives. The Update also contains a report on the activities of the growing numbers of North Americans actively protesting the United States administration's interventionist policies in Central America. A series of "news briefs" on other happenings with regard to the countries of the region and a page announcing the availability of various resource materials on Central America complete this issue of the Update.