El Salvador Braces for Five More Years of the World's Self-Proclaimed "Coolest Dictator" [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

JUNE 7, 2024

BY MANUEL PEREZ-ROCHA

Earlier this year, El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele won reelection by a wide margin. His Nuevas Ideas party also won 54 of the 60 seats in the Legislative Assembly and the vast majority of the country’s mayorships. His power is now almost absolute. But the elections were marred by a large number of irregularities documented by the Organization of American States, damaging Bukele’s international reputation. Could it be a sign of troubles to come?

Bukele officially began his second five-year term on June 1. He’s probably the most popular president in Latin America due to his success in quelling gang violence in the country.

But the fact that he broke El Salvador’s constitution to allow himself a second term, along with the large number of human rights violations and lack of transparency during his “state of exception,” is leading to international criticism. The Canadian government, for example, refrained from congratulating Bukele after the election. And Bukele’s government remains unable to attract the foreign investment it craves.

Approximately 80,000 people have been detained under Bukele’s “state of emergency” since March 2022. Estimates for how many of those people are innocent range from 30 to 70 percent.

More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/06/07/el-salvador-braces-for-five-more-years-of-the-worlds-self-proclaimed-coolest-dictator/