La Matanza

La Matanza
Map of the Salvadoran departments affected by the revolt
Date Main rebellion: 22–25 January 1932 Army killings: 25 January – February 1932 Location Western El Salvador Departments: Ahuachapán La Libertad Santa Ana Sonsonate Result Revolt suppressed, ethnocide of Pipil people
Belligerents
Peasant rebels Communist Party of El Salvador Pipil rebels	Salvadoran government Armed Forces National Guard National Police
Commanders and leaders
Farabundo Martí  Mario Zapata  Alfonso Luna  Francisco Sánchez  Feliciano Ama	Maximiliano Hernández Martínez Osmín Aguirre y Salinas Joaquín Valdés José Tomás Calderón Marcelino Galdámez
Strength
70,000–80,000	Unknown
Casualties and losses
10,000 to 40,000 killed	~100 killed

La Matanza (Spanish for 'The Massacre') refers to a communist-indigenous rebellion that took place in El Salvador between 22 and 25 January 1932. After the revolt was suppressed, it was followed by large-scale government killings in western El Salvador, which resulted in the deaths of 10,000 to 40,000 people. Another 100 soldiers were killed during the suppression of the revolt.

On 22 January 1932, members of the Communist Party of El Salvador (PCES) and Pipil peasants launched a rebellion against the Salvadoran military government due to widespread social unrest and the suppression of democratic political freedoms, especially after the cancellation of the results of the 1932 legislative election.

During the rebellion, the communist and indigenous rebels, led by Farabundo Martí and Feliciano Ama, respectively, captured several towns and cities across western El Salvador, killing an estimated 2,000 people and causing over US$100,000 in property damage. The Salvadoran government, led by General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, who had assumed power following the 1931 Salvadoran coup d'état, declared martial law, and ordered the suppression of the revolt.

Most of the people who were killed during La Matanza, which has been described as an ethnocide, were Pipil peasants and non-combatants, causing the extermination of the majority of the Pipil-speaking population, which led to a near total loss of the spoken language in El Salvador. Many of the rebellion's leaders, including Martí and Ama, were executed by the military. The government's repression also forced several communist leaders to flee the country and go into exile.