Ana María

Ana María (17 May 1929 – 6 April 1983) was the "nom de guerre" of Mélida Anaya Montes, the second in command of the Fuerzas Populares de Liberación Farabundo Martí (FPL), the oldest of the five guerilla organizations making up the FMLN, in El Salvador.

FMLN commander Ana María, considered to be an icon of revolutionary women in Latin America.

An intellectual, she was considered as an icon among revolutionary women in the region. Eventually she was killed by her own comrades on April 6, 1983, in Managua, Nicaragua.

Later, the FMLN falsely blamed its leader Cayetano Carpio (sometimes referred to as the "Ho Chi Minh of Latin America") as the person responsible for the crime, and he committed suicide.

Early life

She was born in the small town of Santiago Texacuangos, in the central zone of El Salvador. Ana María received her Doctorate of Education from the University of El Salvador, where she became a professor of education and gave classes in the 1960s. She was the assistant director of the Alberto Masferrer University.

At the end of the 1960s, she became one of the main leaders of the Gremial Association "ANDES 21 de Junio" (National Association of Salvadoran Teachers 21 of June). She led the strikes of professors of 1968 and 1971, which created major trouble for the government of general Fidel Sanchez Hernandez.

In 1970, the ex-Secretary General of the Communist Party of El Salvador, Salvador Cayetano Carpio founded the first guerrilla detachment of El Salvador: The Popular Forces of Liberacion Farabundo Martí (FPL).

Death

On April 6, 1983, Ana Maria was murdered at her home in Managua, Nicaragua. Her assassins stabbed her approximately 80 times with an ice pick, and then slashed her neck. Nicaraguan authorities later apprehended the murderers and found them to be members of the FMLN. The murder was caused by a deep division that had developed within the FMLN. A conciliatory faction, which favored negotiation, was led by Ana Maria. The hard line faction opposed negotiation with the government of El Salvador, and supported a prolonged war. This faction was led by Commander Salvador Cayetano Carpio. Rogelio Bazzaglia later confessed to Ana Maria's murder, stating he was under orders from Carpio, later retracting it. After her burial and upon hearing the news that Salvador Cayetano Carpio himself was implicated in masterminding Ana Maria's murder, Carpio decided to kill himself in his own home.

Legacy

Ana María is considered an iconic example for educators and those struggling against oppression, especially in El Salvador. The Melida Anaya Montes Language School in San Salvador, which uses popular education techniques highlights social justice issues, is named for her.

Mélida Anaya Montes Women's Movement (MAM) was created in 1992 to defend women's rights.

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See also
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