José Napoleón Duarte (1926-1990), a civilian reformer who was elected president of El Salvador in 1984, enjoyed the support of the United States and had a substantial popular following. But the government was badly divided between reformist and reactionary forces, leading to a continuous struggle for survival.

Duarte was born in San Salvador on November 23, 1926, to a family of comfortable means. He received an excellent education in El Salvador and the United States, graduating in civil engineering from Notre Dame University in 1948. Upon his return to El Salvador, Duarte joined his father-in-law's construction firm and devoted his time to his profession, to part-time university teaching, and to work with service organizations. By his own account he took little interest in politics until 1960.

In 1960 a leftist-supported coup d'état overthrew the government of Col. José María Lemus (1956-1960), raising fears that El Salvador...