When Romero was installed as archbishop in 1977, his country was engulfed in violent political turmoil driven by gross economic inequality. Elitist cal and extremely wealthy families controlled the land and an estimated 65 percent of the peasants were landless. A guerrilla dedicated to land reform and supported, according to the military authorities, by 90 percent of the population, arose to challenge the oligarchy. A year before Romero came to office, the large plantation owners and the right wing of the army escalated a systematic campaign of repression, supported and funded by the United States in fact, which included a full-scale attack on the church because of its support for the peasants. Thousands of people were killed, including priests, nuns and lay members of the church while other thousands fled the country. (http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/peaceheroes/oscar_romero.html.
Romero was known as conservative and cautious, although he was sensitive to the suffering of the poor in his diocese and condemned the injustice of their plight. After having found some information on Romero, I do not think his election as archbishop was welcomed by the oppressed people of his country. In fact, according to various sources (http://www.silk.net/RelEd/romero.htm) most clergy men of contemporary El Salvador were of the opinion that "We all thought we faced a very bleak future." Shortly after his installation as archbishop in February 1977, his Jesuit friend Rutilio Grande, who helped build base Christian communities in rural areas, was murdered. Many of his friends of this time said that this tragedy changed his life radically. From that day he moved into the world of the poor whom he found to be "the place of God's revelation in history." (http://www.silk.net/RelEd/romero.htm) .
During his three years as archbishop, Romero embraced the world of the poor, which brought him "face to face with his people crucified by poverty and tortured by violence.