Santa Tecla, El Salvador - History - Municipal Government and Information

Municipal Government and Information

In recent decades, Santa Tecla has received a major influx of new residents, which among other things, has led to the invasion of the main streets by informal sector traders in search of livelihood. The most rapid urban growth and disorderly, occurs in the period 1968–2000, when they occur as natural disasters and social civil war in the eighties and the 1986 earthquake that struck San Salvador in particular.

The urban extension to Santa Tecla breaks the boundaries of the restricted nature areas established by the Metro Plan 80–2000 (which regulates land use planning and land use in the municipalities of Greater San Salvador), producing a great impact environment in the foothills of the San Salvador volcano and in the Balsam mountains.

That combination of factors led to the loss of human lives in the Colonia Las Colinas, a development authorized by the Central Government in restricted areas of the Cordillera del Balsamo, during the earthquakes of January and February 2001. This event marked the Municipal Government for the need to plan better and with the participation of the citizenry, the development of the city. In this context, in 2002 the City Council led by Mayor Oscar Ortiz, starts the new participatory strategic planning process concluding with the Participatory Strategic Plan (PEP) of Santa Tecla for the period 2002 to 2012.