Characters to manage El Salvador (5)
I believe the answer is:
runes
'characters' is the definition.
(I know this)
'manage el salvador' is the wordplay.
'manage' becomes 'run' (both can mean to organise).
'el salvador' becomes 'ES'.
'run'+'es'='RUNES'
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for runes that I've seen before include "Small stones bearing symbols with magic significance" , "Mysterious letters" , "old characters" , "Old letters" , "marks on old tablets" .)