The Revolutionary Mass Coordination ({{langx, es, Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas) was an alliance of revolutionary mass organizations in
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
formed on January 11, 1980. After existing for only three months, it merged into the
Revolutionary Democratic Front on April 18.
The major action in its history was a January 22, 1980, demonstration, in commemoration of the
1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
(Spanish language, Spanish for 'The Massacre') refers to a Communism, communist-Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous rebellion that took place in El Salvador between 22 and 25 January 1932. After the revolt was suppressed, it was ...
. Between 200,000 and 350,000 people took to the streets this day in a country with just 5 million inhabitants. The security forces attacked the march with snipers located in the National Palace and other buildings in downtown San Salvador against the contingents of
Frente de Acción Popular Unificado (United Popular Action Front) (FAPU) and
Unión Democrática Nacionalista. The contingents of
Bloque Popular Revolucionario and
Ligas Populares 28 de Febrero (LP-28) had not yet begun to march when the demonstration was dissolved.
Later marches of the CRM were dispersed with particular dispatch by the
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
, Hacienda Police, National Police and
paramilitaries
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
. The last big demonstration of the CRM occurred on March 24, 1980, during the funeral of Archbishop
Óscar Romero
Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador, Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular ...
, assassinated the week before. The repression of the march was brutal and the marchers began to leave the streets and the CRM devolved into a coordinating body of unions, student, farmer and worker groups. The last actions were during the general offensive of 1981 (la fallida).
Every organization in the CRM corresponded to a military-political organization.
*
Bloque Popular Revolucionario, a mass front of
Fuerzas Populares de Liberación “Farabundo Martí” founded on July 30, 1975
*
Frente de Acción Popular Unificado (Unified Popular Action Front), mass front of
Fuerzas Armadas de la Resistencia Nacional (National Resistance Armed Forces), founded in 1974
*
Ligas Populares 28 de Febrero, (Popular League of February 28) mass front of
Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo. LP-28 was founded in March 1977, through the struggles against electoral fraud that year.
*
Unión Democrática Nacionalista (National Democratic Union) was a legal political party launched by the
Communist Party of El Salvador
*
Movimiento de Liberación Popular (Popular Liberation Movement), mass front of
Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party
Other organizations involved in the CRM were:
*Under FAPU:
**Federación Nacional Sindical de Trabajadores Salvadoreños (FENASTRAS) (National Federation of Salvadoran Trade Unions).
**Movimiento Revolucionario Campesino (MRC) (Farmers Revolutionary Movement)
**Frente Universitario de Estudiantes Universitarios "Salvador Allende" (FUERSA) (Salvador Allende University Student Front).
**Asociación Revolucionaria de Estudiantes de Secundaria (ARDES) (Revolutionary Association of Secondary Students).
**Organización de Maestros Revolucionarios (OMR) (Organization of Revolutionary Teachers).
**Vanguardia Proletaria (VP) (Proletariat Vanguard).
**Sectores Comunales (SC) (Communal Sectors).
**Movimiento de Intelectuales Revolucionarios (MIR) (Revolutionary Intellectuals Movement).
* Bloque Popular Revolucionario (BPR, creado en 1975 con grupos escindidos del FAPU).
**Unión de Trabajadores del Campo (UTC).
**Federación Cristiana de Campesinos Salvadoreños (FECCAS).
**Asociación Nacional de Educadores Salvadoreños (ANDES 21 de junio).
**Unión de Pobladores de Tugurios (UPT).
**Movimiento de Estudiantes Revolucionarios de Secundaria (MERS).
**Fuerzas Universitarias Revolucionarias "30 de Julio" (FUR-30).
**Universitarios Revolucionarios "19 de julio" (UR-19).
**Comité Coordinador de Sindicatos (CCS).
**Movimiento de la Cultura Popular (MCP).
* Ligas Populares 28 de febrero (LP-28, fundadas en 1977).
**Ligas Populares Campesinas (LPC).
**Ligas Populares de Secundaria (LPS).
**Ligas Populares Obreras (LPO).
**Asociación de Usuarios y Trabajadores de los Mercados de El Salvador (ASUTRAMES).
**Comités de Barrios LP-28.
*Unión Democrática Nacionalista (UDN, fundada en 1969).
**Asociación de Estudiantes de Secundaria (AES).
**Frente de Acción Universitaria (FAE).
**Asociación de Trabajadores Agrícolas y Campesinos de El Salvador (ATACES).
**Federación Unitaria Sindical Salvadoreña (FUSS).
**Confederación Unitaria de Trabajadores Salvadoreños (CUTS).
**Federación de Sindicatos de Trabajadores de la Industria del Alimento, Vestido, Textil, Similares y Conexos de El Salvador (FESTIAVSTCES).
*Movimiento de Liberación Popular (MLP, creado en 1979, antes conocido como Ligas para la Liberación o Liga para la Liberación).
**Brigada de Trabajadores del Campo (BTC).
**Comité de Bases Obreras (BCO).
**Brigada Revolucionaria de Estudiantes de Secundaria (BRES).
**Ligas para la Liberación (LL).
Defunct left-wing political party alliances
Organizations of the Salvadoran Civil War
Political party alliances in El Salvador
Salvador