Francisco Flores, 39, of the rightist Nationalist Republican Alliance, was sworn
                  in as the country's 34th president. Carlos Quintanilla, 52, a lawyer and coffee
                  grower, was sworn in as vice president.

                  In his inaugural address, Flores pledged to do everything possible to develop
                  the economy.

                  "The foremost and most urgent requirement of our government is to promote
                  jobs," he said. "We must encourage all enterprises and businesses to create
                  employment as the only alternative to neglect and poverty."

                  Flores also pledged that his administration would fight "with all our energy" the
                  crime wave that has spread across the country since the end of its civil war in
                  1992.

                  Murder rate 12 times higher than New York's

                  El Salvador's murder rate is 12 times that of New York and people are being
                  killed at a greater rate now than during the civil war. There were 582 murders
                  reported in the first three months of this year in the country of six million
                  people.

                  Flores won by a landslide in March elections over six other candidates,
                  becoming the third straight member of his party, known as ARENA, to hold
                  the presidency.

                  Some 3,000 special guests attended the swearing-in ceremony in San
                  Salvador, including six other Central American presidents, Prince Felipe of
                  Spain and Prince Albert of Monaco.

                  Opposition politicians, while calling the tone of Flores' address "hopeful,"
                  criticized what they considered a lack of concrete commitments to achieve the
                  goals the new president set out.

                  "The country needs more deed, more action, fewer words," said Facundo
                  Guardado, who was the presidential candidate of the guerrilla
                  group-turned-political movement Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front
                  (FMLN). "That's what we expect beginning tomorrow."

                  Guardado also scored Flores' failure to make reducing corruption a priority,
                  saying that "you can't fight crime if you don't fight corruption and impunity."

                  Social Christian leader Ruben Zamora also found fault with the inaugural
                  speech, rejecting it as "pretty words and very few concrete proposals."

                  Following his inauguration, Flores swore in a Cabinet made up of businessmen,
                  technocrats who were educated abroad and ARENA loyalists.

                  Civil war ravaged economy

                  El Salvador still has a frail economy, the result of the civil war between leftist
                  guerrillas and a succession of U.S.-supported rightist governments backed by
                  the military.

                  Human rights groups estimate more than 75,000 people were killed in the
                  conflict from October 1979 until January 1992, when peace was established
                  through the mediation of the United Nations.

                  During the conflict, the United States poured billions of dollars in military and
                  other aid into the country to keep it from falling into the hands of the guerrillas.
                  The conflict largely dismantled a system of government that favored powerful,
                  wealthy landowners and kept the majority of the population in dire poverty.

                  Even so, living standards remain low for most people, jobs are scarce and
                  crime is widespread. The average salary for a middle-class worker is the
                  equivalent of $150 a month.