14 Families Of El Salvador !full! May 2026

Meanwhile, critics argue that Bukele has simply replaced one concentration of power with another: his own family and loyal military officers now control key state contracts. The legend of the 14 families endures because economic inequality in El Salvador remains staggering. According to World Bank data, the richest 10% of Salvadorans earn nearly 40% of the country’s income, while the poorest 40% earn less than 12%.

For many Salvadorans, the names on the list may have changed, but the structure has not. The same last names still appear on the boards of the country’s most powerful corporations. The same neighborhoods produce nearly every finance minister. And the same fear of land reform—first forged in 1932—still haunts political debate. 14 families of el salvador

The Salvadoran Civil War (1980–1992) was fought, in part, to break the oligarchy’s hold. The 1992 Chapultepec Peace Accords forced some land redistribution, and neoliberal reforms in the 1990s opened the economy to new players—remittances, supermarkets, call centers, and later, Bitcoin. Meanwhile, critics argue that Bukele has simply replaced

However, studies by the Fundación Nacional para el Desarrollo (FUNDE) show that economic concentration remains extreme. Many of the original family names have simply evolved into modern holding groups: (Poma family), Grupo de Sola , Grupo Agrisal , Grupo Cuscatlán , and Banco Agrícola (once controlled by the Dueñas family). They own the malls, the banks, the poultry farms, the beverage distributors, and the media outlets. For many Salvadorans, the names on the list

Here’s a feature-style article on — a powerful, enduring symbol of oligarchic control in the country’s history and modern imagination. The 14 Families of El Salvador: Myth, Power, and the Legacy of the Oligarchy In El Salvador, few phrases carry as much historical weight—or as much contemporary frustration—as las 14 familias .