The transformation was cemented by President and later solidified under the liberal reforms of the 1880s. The government passed laws that effectively privatized communal lands (ejidos) held by indigenous communities and peasants. These laws forced small farmers off their land, transferring massive tracts of volcanic soil into the hands of a small group of European-descended elites.
Walk through the Colonia San Benito neighborhood of San Salvador today. You will see mansions behind twelve-foot walls, guard dogs, private security. Inside those mansions, the descendants of the Fourteen live much as their great-grandparents did—speaking English among themselves, vacationing in Miami, sending their children to the Escuela Americana. They are not villains in the cartoon sense. Many are educated, charitable, even progressive. They will tell you, with sincerity, that “the 14 families” is an outdated myth. el salvador 14 families