San Miguel Department

San Miguel Department anchors eastern El Salvador, its capital city functioning as regional commercial hub second only to San Salvador nationally. The department's strategic position—between Guatemala and Honduras, near Pacific ports—enables commerce that serves multiple markets. San Miguel city's November festival and year-round commercial activity create economic dynamism unusual for a department outside the metropolitan area.

Remittances flow disproportionately to eastern El Salvador, where emigration rates historically exceeded western departments. This external income supports consumer spending, construction, and services in San Miguel that local production alone cannot sustain. The pattern resembles source-sink dynamics: the department exports labor (to United States) and imports cash (remittances) that fund consumption.

Agriculture includes cotton (historically), basic grains, and livestock. The Chaparrastique volcano (San Miguel volcano) creates fertile soils but also eruption risk—activity in recent years has prompted evacuations. The department's relative prosperity compared to neighboring Morazán and La Unión attracts internal migration, reinforcing San Miguel city's regional hub function. Whether the department can develop productive capacity beyond remittance-funded services determines long-term sustainability.