Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state for Canada as well the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the other countries comprising the Commonwealth.
Congress is the American equivalent to Parliament. It is also a two-house system (bicameral), but differs in that the upper house of the Senate is elected directly by the people rather than inherited or appointed.
Contrary to popular belief, the United States is not a democracy. It is a federal republic. This is because the people do not govern directly, but instead choose representatives to pass laws on their behalf.
Both El Salvador and Nicaragua experienced civil war throughout the 1980s.
Belize was settled by the British in the 1800s and remains part of the Commonwealth today.
Nicaragua was the country in which only 1% of the population owned land until fairly recent times.