Adrian Esquino Lisco
Encyclopedia
Adrian Esquino Lisco was an El Salvador
an activist and spiritual chief and advisor to El Salvador's indigenous community
. Lisco rose to international prominence during the Salvadoran Civil War when he called attention to human rights
atrocities committed against El Salvador's indigenous peoples, who number about 1 percent of the country's 7 million people.
, El Salvador
. He was of indigenous Nahua heritage. Lisco's older brother had been killed during the suppression of the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
(also called La matanza) by the Salvadoran dictatorship. Lisco was described as a short, soft spoken man who was less than 5 feet tall. He was a farmer
and artisan
by profession.
Lisco's father founded the Asociación Nacional de Indigenas de El Salvador (ANIS) in 1954. Thr main purpose of the ANIS was to preserve the culture, customs
and language
of El Salvador's indigenous groups, including the Lenca, Maya
and Nahua. The organization generally worked behind the scenes to preserve El Salvador's indigenous heritage. Many indigenous Salvadorans considered it too dangerous to speak their native languages or even wear traditional clothing ever since the massacre that ended the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
.
Adrian Esquino Lisco inherited the title of spiritual chief in 1976 and became head of the Asociación Nacional de Indigenas de El Salvador. He attended a number of indigenous peoples
conferences throughout the late 1970s throughout the world.
Through Lisco's work, the ANIS finally won legal recognition from the Salvadoran government of
President José Napoleón Duarte
in 1980.
in Las Hojas, El Salvador. Salvadoran soldiers captured 74 male villagers, tied their thumbs behind their backs shot them. A Salavadoran federal judge later reported just 18 dead.
An El Salvadoran federal human rights commission, charged with investigating the Las Hojas massacre and other violations, did not accomplish much, reportedly because of pressure from the country's army. The commanders of the Salavadoran troops at Las Hojas were given amnesty in the 1990s as part of a broader Central American peace plan
.
Lisco and others blamed wealthy Salvadoran landowners for the atrocity at Las Hojas. Lisco accused influential landownders of using the army to destroy the Las Hojas cooperative. Landownders often considered the farm cooperatives to be subversive, even Communist. Attempts at farm reforms were begun in th late 1970s, but were soon halted, leading to resentment from both peasants and wealthy landowners.
Lisco once had an encounter with Colonel Elmer Gonzales Araujo, one of the leading commanders at Las Hojas. Araujo reportedly told Lisco that his soldiers were defending themselves against "armed subversives." Lisco later told the New York Times that, "I asked the army high command how guerrillas could die with their hands tied behind their backs."
Lisco went to Washington D.C. during the height of the Salvadoran Civil War to draw attention to the war's atrocities. He soon found receptive supporters in the U.S. Congress, most notably Senator Ted Kennedy
and U.S. Representative Joe Moakley
. His work in Washington put pressure on the Salvadoran government. According to Francisco Acosta, a Salvadoran activist based in Maryland
, Lisco's lobbying of Congress led to the release of more than 100 political prisoner
s from government custody.
on September 8, 2007. He was 68 years old.
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
an activist and spiritual chief and advisor to El Salvador's indigenous community
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Lisco rose to international prominence during the Salvadoran Civil War when he called attention to human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
atrocities committed against El Salvador's indigenous peoples, who number about 1 percent of the country's 7 million people.
Early life
Adrian Esquino Lisco was born in Comarca San Ramon, in western Sonsonate DepartmentSonsonate Department
Sonsonate is a department of El Salvador in the western part of the country. The capital is Sonsonate.The department has a population of over 500,000 and an area of 1,226 km².Created on June 12, 1824...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. He was of indigenous Nahua heritage. Lisco's older brother had been killed during the suppression of the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
The peasant uprising of 1932, also known as La matanza , was a brief, peasant-led rebellion that occurred on January 22 of that year in the western departments of El Salvador...
(also called La matanza) by the Salvadoran dictatorship. Lisco was described as a short, soft spoken man who was less than 5 feet tall. He was a farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
and artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
by profession.
Lisco's father founded the Asociación Nacional de Indigenas de El Salvador (ANIS) in 1954. Thr main purpose of the ANIS was to preserve the culture, customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
and language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of El Salvador's indigenous groups, including the Lenca, Maya
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
and Nahua. The organization generally worked behind the scenes to preserve El Salvador's indigenous heritage. Many indigenous Salvadorans considered it too dangerous to speak their native languages or even wear traditional clothing ever since the massacre that ended the 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
The peasant uprising of 1932, also known as La matanza , was a brief, peasant-led rebellion that occurred on January 22 of that year in the western departments of El Salvador...
.
Adrian Esquino Lisco inherited the title of spiritual chief in 1976 and became head of the Asociación Nacional de Indigenas de El Salvador. He attended a number of indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
conferences throughout the late 1970s throughout the world.
Through Lisco's work, the ANIS finally won legal recognition from the Salvadoran government of
President José Napoleón Duarte
José Napoleón Duarte
José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes was a Salvadoran political figure who, from March 3, 1980, to 1982, led the civil-military Revolutionary Government Junta that took power in a 1979 coup d'état...
in 1980.
Salvadoran Civil War (1980 - 1992)
Adrian Esquino Lisco first appeared in international news coverage of the civil war when he began calling attention to the February 23, 1983 Salvadoran army-led attack on an indigenous farm cooperativeCooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
in Las Hojas, El Salvador. Salvadoran soldiers captured 74 male villagers, tied their thumbs behind their backs shot them. A Salavadoran federal judge later reported just 18 dead.
An El Salvadoran federal human rights commission, charged with investigating the Las Hojas massacre and other violations, did not accomplish much, reportedly because of pressure from the country's army. The commanders of the Salavadoran troops at Las Hojas were given amnesty in the 1990s as part of a broader Central American peace plan
Peacebuilding
Peacebuilding is a term used within the international development community to describe the processes and activities involved in resolving violent conflict and establishing a sustainable peace....
.
Lisco and others blamed wealthy Salvadoran landowners for the atrocity at Las Hojas. Lisco accused influential landownders of using the army to destroy the Las Hojas cooperative. Landownders often considered the farm cooperatives to be subversive, even Communist. Attempts at farm reforms were begun in th late 1970s, but were soon halted, leading to resentment from both peasants and wealthy landowners.
Lisco once had an encounter with Colonel Elmer Gonzales Araujo, one of the leading commanders at Las Hojas. Araujo reportedly told Lisco that his soldiers were defending themselves against "armed subversives." Lisco later told the New York Times that, "I asked the army high command how guerrillas could die with their hands tied behind their backs."
Lisco went to Washington D.C. during the height of the Salvadoran Civil War to draw attention to the war's atrocities. He soon found receptive supporters in the U.S. Congress, most notably Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
and U.S. Representative Joe Moakley
Joe Moakley
John Joseph "Joe" Moakley was a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts, a seat held two years earlier by Speaker John William McCormack. Moakley was the last chairman of the U.S...
. His work in Washington put pressure on the Salvadoran government. According to Francisco Acosta, a Salvadoran activist based in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Lisco's lobbying of Congress led to the release of more than 100 political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s from government custody.
Death
Adrian Esquino Lisco died of complications from diabetes, including kidney failure, at a hospital in El Salvador's capital, San SalvadorSan Salvador
The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador...
on September 8, 2007. He was 68 years old.
See also
- Marina Manzanares MonjarásMarina Manzanares MonjarásMarina Monjarás is a political activist in El Salvador. She has long been with the main opposition party Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front . On July 2, 2006, her parents Francisco Antonio Manzanares, 77, and Juana Monjarás de Manzanares, 75, were brutally murdered...
- María Julia HernándezMaría Julia HernándezMaría Julia Hernández was a prominent human rights advocate who tried to speak for victims of the civil war in El Salvador. She was the founding director of Tutela Legal, the human rights office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador.Hernández was born in San Francisco Morazán,...
- José Castellanos ContrerasJosé Castellanos ContrerasJosé Arturo Castellanos Contreras was a Salvadoran army colonel and diplomat who, while working as El Salvador's Consul General for Geneva during World War II, and in conjunction with a Jewish-Hungarian businessman named György Mandl, helped save up to 40,000 Jews and Central Europeans from Nazi...