Carlos Humberto Romero

Who is Carlos Humberto Romero?

General Carlos Humberto Romero Mena is a former President of El Salvador, elected on February 20, 1977 in a fraudulent election and inaugurated on July 1, 1977. Romero held power until October 1979 when he was deposed with a reformist coup d'état by dissident, politically conservative and moderate military officers and civilians. The coup d'état that deposed President-General Humberto Romero was preamble to El Salvador's twelve-year civil war. Romero was a member of the National Conciliation Party, and also served as Defense Minister from 1972 to 1973. President-General Romero's rule was military dictatorship in the style of his predecessors. Romero's time in office was largely characterized by escalating violence and instability. In the late 1970s, political unrest increased, because of El Salvador's severe socio-economic inequalities unaddressed by his government and widespread discontent with government policy culminated in widespread protest and rebellion, which was met with reprisal by government forces.