Nayib Bukele, the savior of El Salvador?

[irjO]

However, narrative-wise, the reasoning that it's a bad idea to really do something about the cartels because 'the cancer has become so bad' seems quite crazy to me. Continuing the analogy, it's like condemning a patient to die.

Actually, El Salvador was in a worst shape than Mexico when it comes to how controlled the country was from La Mara. Continuing to that analogy, was in a “stage 4” cancer. I knew people from there who were telling me stories that had a big impact on me about how can someone live under those circumstances.
Yes, Mexico have war-like armed cartels, but the quality of life isn’t as bad as how it was in El Salvador.

 

[Alejo]

But wait... there's a distinction to be made here.

Generally when one uses the word "dictator" one uses it to mean something along the lines of: a leader who has usurped power and uses whatever means necessary to remain in power and rule by force, torture, lies, corruption, etc, and AGAINST the will of the population for his/her own selfish reasons, which happen to go against the well being of the population that he rules.

What people in Russia and El Salvador have decided is that they like the direction in which their country is moving, and so allowing for consecutive terms so that things remain moving in that direction is within their right, isn't it? isn't that the expression of democracy?

So is he staying in power longer than AMLO for instance? sure.. but is he unpopular? only outside of El Salvador, at which point, who cares? He committed to please and enhance the lives of Salvadorians, not to please anyone else on earth. As I see it, which is probably the reason people are calling for the same approach in Ecuador, Peru, Mexico etc, is.. the choice El Salvador had at some point was: We either uphold the current law and nothing changes, or... we allow this one guy to bend it and change it but things improve, and things improved.

Many in Mexico would've liked AMLO to remain, and Petro in Colombia to remain for instance, but upholding the constitution was more important, so they got what they wanted.. criminal stability and a nice breather of a few years, then right back to status quo which in El Salvador, was the rule of gangs which do, by the way, rule as dictators with cruelty and do not give a damn about the constitution.

Is this guy a saint? I do not know, but I am sure that he's got human flaws, and he may at one point falter, but right now.. people in El Salvador love what he's done for their country and in the balance, to uphold a corrupt constitution which allowed for their country to be ruled by gangs or to break it up a bit but regain that sense of safety and security, I'd vote for safety and security. So I get why he's popular.

So, I don't think it's controversial to call him a dictator, I mean sure, let's call him a dictator, so what? I think all that matters is whether Salvadorians like the country that they live in or not, that's the bottom line.

 

[Puma]

The cost of security

Murder, torture, and disappearances: a group of experts accuses Bukele's government of crimes against humanity before the UN. They are not talking about the treatment of MS-13 members, but of ordinary people who fell into the hands of the Salvadoran police on "suspicion of having committed a crime."​

The state of emergency has allowed President Bukele’s government to concentrate absolute power, under the cover of which serious, widespread, and systematic human rights violations have been committed that could
amount to crimes against humanity. Emergency situations cannot justify the suspension of non-derogable human rights or the dismantling of the essential principles of the rule of law.
Due Process of Law Fundation

El Salvador has carried out massive human rights violations under its State of Exception public security policy over the past 4 years. A group of experts investigated and analyzed whether those abuses are crimes against humanity.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031886714571313322

El Salvador likely committed crimes against humanity during state of emergency, jurists say

A group of international jurists on Tuesday accused Salvadoran authorities of committing crimes against humanity in a report filed with the ‌Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The complaint alleges systematic acts of torture, murder, and forced disappearances under the country's controversial state of exception, which the government of President Nayib Bukele imposed four years ⁠ago on March.

• The report claims there are "reasonable grounds" to believe crimes against humanity, as defined by Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), are occurring.
• It alleges the violations are part of a state policy "known and even promoted by the highest levels of President Nayib Bukele's government."
• President Bukele's ‌government ⁠first implemented the state of exception on March 27, 2022, to combat a wave of gang violence that left 87 people dead in one weekend.
• Under the emergency ⁠decree, authorities have detained over 90,000 people, and approximately 500 of those detainees have died in state custody.
• Homicides have ⁠fallen by more than 90% since Bukele took office, according to government figures.
• Salvadoran Public Defender General ⁠Rene Escobar denied the claims, saying the government rejects any policy of "forced disappearance, torture, sexual violence, or arbitrary executions."

Better to remain silent and safe.

The Chapultepec Index of Freedom of Expression and the Press is an annual indicator produced by the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) According to this Index El Salvador ranked third from last in Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom 2026, falling two places from the previous edition. It ranks only above Nicaragua and Venezuela.
​

El Salvador ranks among the countries "without freedom of expression," according to the Inter-American Press Association's 2025 Chapultepec Index of Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom.

The country scored 24.49 out of 100 points, falling two places. It ranked third from last, above only Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The report indicates that the branch most involved in situations unfavorable to freedom of expression is the executive branch, "with a strong average influence in this type of action."

The president of @apeselsalvador, Sergio Arauz, denounced an "escalation of repression" in the context of the state of emergency imposed by the Bukele administration. He explained that the use of the Foreign Agents Law, coupled with judicial harassment against media outlets and journalists, has forced around 50 journalists into exile in the last year.
The Chapultepec Index records a serious decline in press freedom in the Americas​

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031532004341063832

Other countries with high restrictions in the Americas: Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru.
​

 

[Sindy-T.S.R]

The cost of security

Murder, torture, and disappearances: a group of experts accuses Bukele's government of crimes against humanity before the UN. They are not talking about the treatment of MS-13 members, but of ordinary people who fell into the hands of the Salvadoran police on "suspicion of having committed a crime."​

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031886714571313322

Better to remain silent and safe.

The Chapultepec Index of Freedom of Expression and the Press is an annual indicator produced by the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) According to this Index El Salvador ranked third from last in Freedom of Expression and Press Freedom 2026, falling two places from the previous edition. It ranks only above Nicaragua and Venezuela.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2031532004341063832

Other countries with high restrictions in the Americas: Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru.
​

@Puma, digging a little deeper with AI, this is what I found from the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF).

The Open Society Foundations (the network founded by George Soros) has been one of the main funders of the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF). In fact, DPLF was founded in 1998 with the initial support of the Open Society Institute.

On page 14 of the document, you can see that Open Society Foundations is listed as a donor to DPLF, and if you look at the end, you'll also see USAID.

https://dplf.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/2009-2011_dplf_annual_report_web.pdf

Just to have a little look around this environment...