With a murder rate of around 52 per 100,000 residents, El Salvador has long been recognized as one of the most dangerous countries in the world (Statista 2023). However, in 2019, a new administration took office intending to rid the country of this notorious reputation. Nayibe Bukele was elected president after running on the campaign promise to reduce the country’s gang activity. Now five years later, President Nayib Bukele’s extensive crackdown on gang membership is attributed to the country’s revival. His popularity amongst the country’s residents is unrivaled evident through his landslide victory with 84.7% of votes during his 2024 campaign (BBC, 2024). His party, New Ideas, also experienced a sweeping victory in the country’s legislative assembly in 2021, allowing Bukele to implement major institutional changes during his first term as president.
Despite this widespread support, many are calling the legitimacy of Bukele’s second term into question. In May 2021, halfway through Bukele’s first tenure, the National Assembly, which had been overtaken by the New Ideas party, appointed new judges to the country’s highest court. Subsequently, mere months later, the court granted Salvadoran presidents the ability to hold office for two consecutive terms (BBC, 2021). Fast forward 3 years and around half of Bukele’s first term later and Bukele is the first Salvadoran president to exercise this newfound power, defeating his opponents for a second 5-year term. The New Ideas party also made massive gains in the country’s congress, winning 54 out of the 60 seats. The adjustment from 84 to 60 seats, an initiative Bukele spearheaded during his first term, may be partly to thank for this massive advantage taken by the New Ideas party. Now that a super-majority of Congress aligns ideologically with Bukele and only 3 seats belong to members of an opposition party (ABC, 2024), Bukele has secured the ⅔ vote necessary for approving changes that will assist his gang-stopping scheme among other plans (BBC, 2021). In other words, there are less legislative checks on Bukele’s power.
As for the judicial branch, that too has fallen victim to Bukele’s executive aggrandizement (Contreras, 2022). In 2021, the Legislative Assembly announced that judges over 60 or with at least 30 years served will “cease their functions” (Human Rights Watch, 2021). Bukele claimed that the approval of the bills is an act of “purification of the Judicial System” and a removal of corrupt judges (Labrador, 2021), however, the bills have no mention of this being the reasoning behind the forced retirement. The bills retire nearly ⅓ of El Salvador’s judges and open up around 200 spots for new, loyalist judges who will uphold the agenda of Bukele and New Ideas (Human Rights Watch 2021). The highest court, the country’s supreme court has also been subject to changes by Bukele’s regime- 5 judges from the supreme court and the attorney general have all been ousted (BBC, 2021). The former attorney-general, Raúl Melara, was terminated from his role due to his suspected connection with ARENA, a right-wing opposition group (Reuters, 2021). His successor, Rodolfo Delgado, was approved by the assembly with 66 votes and backed by New Ideas (Reuters, 2021). These revisions to the state’s judicial branch further reduce the checks on Bukele’s power.
Despite concerns regarding the survival of democracy in the country, it seems as though a majority of citizens are celebrating Bukele’s second term. His crackdown on gang violence is praised by many. Salvadoran authorities state that the number of murders has decreased by 70% and that Bukele’s prolonged state of emergency is credited as the leading cause of this (Reuters, 2024). Over 74,000 people have been arrested in the country on suspicion of having ties to gangs, proving to be both relieving to the country’s citizens who can now enjoy peace of mind in the streets of their country, but also distressing for families of those who claim their family
members were wrongly detained (The Economist, 2024). With over 8% of young men in custody, trying all of them will be a lengthy process, and because few trials have already commenced, many are left to wonder how due process will play out in Bukele’s regime. Despite these concerns, the reduction of the homicide rate is undoubtedly commendable- until you consider the investigation led by the aforementioned former attorney general Raúl Melara, that is. His investigation claims that in 2020, members of El Salvador’s largest gangs negotiated with Bukele’s government officials in prison, where they exchanged better prison conditions and job opportunities for gang members for their commitment to keeping the country’s homicide rate down (Elfaro, 2021). Bukele denied these claims (Sherman, 2021). Then in May 2021, Melara was removed from office due to his close ties to opposition groups. This isn't the only controversy stemming from Bukele’s pursuit of ending gang violence. In 2020, in search of funds to finance a strong military and police force, Bukele made his way into the assembly along with a group of armed police. He aimed to get the assembly to pass a multi-million dollar loan that would support his plan for securing the country (BBC, 2020). The leader of the assembly in 2020 and a member of the National Coalition Party, Mario Ponce described Bukele’s actions as an “attempted coup d’etat” (France24, 2020). Mario Ponce is no longer a member of El Salvador’s legislative assembly.
The country of El Salvador is considered a “constitutional multiparty republic with a democratically elected government” (US Embassy, 2022). Anyone over the age of 18 may vote and the country is said to have free and fair elections according to observers abroad (US Department of State, 2009). Further, the country operates under a constitution that was established in 1983 (WIPO, 2014). Up until recently, the country has been dominated by two main parties, the Nationalist Republican Alliance and Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front. Bukele’s presidential run with his newly founded New Ideas party disrupted this tradition, practically redefining the country as a one-party state (Perelló & Navia, 2022). As of 2020, the country’s democratic institutions have earned it a freedom score of 66, or “partly free” (Freedom House, 2020). The country has been condemned by countries like the United States for undermining many democratic institutions. Still, Bukele has acquired unparalleled support not only from his constituents but from international onlookers. During a February 2024 visit to the United States, Bukele was cheered at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as he urged conservatives to stand up against the “dark forces” of the country, claiming that El Salvador was an example of what happens when the dark forces take over (Licon, 2024). While some argue that Bukele’s actions are a step away from democracy, the Salvadoran president claims that the country had not known democracy until him and when asked about a possible third term, Bukele stated that Salvadorans have the right to amend the constitution to allow for this (The Economist, 2024). Currently, the constitution only permits presidents to hold two terms, but based on what has been observed, that can surely be subject to change.
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