Between 1850 and 1893 an agrarian elite of coffee growers, processors, and exporters came to power in every independent republic in Central America except Honduras. They governed, directly or indirectly, until 1948 in Costa Rica, 1979 in El Salvador, and were influential in the Somozas' and the Sandinistas' Nicaragua. The social origins of dictatorship, democracy, and revolution in El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua are closely tied to the divergent politics of these coffee elites. Their views remain crucial to prospects for economic development, peace, and democracy in the region. This research will explore the economic and political views and historical experience of these elites and supplement earlier research on their economic activities and social origins. The research is based on in-depth interviews with members of coffee elite families in Central America and in Miami, Florida, supplemented by archival research in Central American collections. The study extends the investigator's published research on Central American coffee export economies and will contribute to an understanding of the politics of a region in crisis.
