The Core Relocations () are a neighborhood composed of three circular settlements located on the outskirts of Chalatenango,

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 ...

. The Core Relocations were built by the Salvadoran government during the 1970s to relocated almost 10,000 people displaced by the flooding of the

Cerrón Grande Reservoir The Cerrón Grande Reservoir ( Spanish: ), also known locally as Lake Suchitlán (Spanish: ), is a reservoir in northern El Salvador and the largest body of fresh water in the country. The reservoir was filled between 1973 and 1976, subsequent ...

History

From 1973 to 1976, the Salvadoran government flooded of land in northern

following the completion of the Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam, and the subsequent formation of the

led to the displacement of 10,000 people. Most of these people were relocated to a camp known as El Dorado just north of the reservoir. Located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

(now district) of Chalatenango, the camp eventually turned into the Core Relocation neighborhood divided into three circular settlements known as Core Relocation #1, Core Relocation #2, and Core Relocation #3. In 1975, the Executive Hydroelectric Commission of the Lempa River (CEL) designated Core Relocation #2 as the administrative center of the neighborhood. In 1992, a bill was proposed in the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. History The organization was founded in 1824 as the Central American Congress (). Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. Until ...

to elevate the neighborhood to the status of a municipality, separating it from Chalatenango. Lawmakers did not act on the proposal, and by 1995, the proposal was abandoned.

Infrastructure

The Core Relocations are located north of the Cerrón Grande Reservoir on the western outskirts of the Chalatenango district. The Motochico River flows between Core Relocation #1 and Core Relocations #2 and #3. The Carretera Longitudinal del Norte runs just north of the three Core Relocations. Core Relocations #1 and #2 are directly connected to the Carretera Longitudinal del Norte, while a road connects Core Relocation #3 to Core Relocation #2. The La Prosperidad bridge crosses the Motochico River; the bridge was destroyed in June 2017 by heavy floods, and a US$2.5 million reconstruction project rebuilt the bridge by October 2018. The Core Relocations are organized into circular formations. Most of the neighborhood's services, including schools, health clinics, and a museum, are located in Core Relocation #2. Each Core Relocation has a church. Bus route 300 connects the Core Relocations to downtown Chalatenango. The Core Relocations use the postal code 1301. Core Relocation #1 is nicknamed "Areneros" after one of the cantons submerged by the Cerrón Grande Reservoir's flooding.

Economy

, according to José Baltasar Menjívar, the then-vice president of ADESCO (a company located in Core Relocation #3), most residents of the Core Relocations are fishermen, farmers, or ranchers.

References

{{Authority control 1970s establishments in El Salvador Chalatenango Department