(In a very poor country, crime is the number one issue)
El Salvador’s state of emergency one year later
This week
marks one year since El Salvador’s bullish millennial president, Nayib Bukele, introduced a state of emergency, enabling his government to deal with the scourge of gang violence that has long made his country one of the world’s most dangerous.
Quick recap: To crack down on the country’s roughly 70,000 gang members, Bukele’s government denied alleged criminals the right to know
why they were detained and access to legal counsel. The arrest blitz has seen nearly 2% of the adult population
locked up.
Despite these
draconian measures and Bukele’s efforts to circumvent a one-term limit, he enjoys a
staggering 91% approval rating.
Bukele has also sought to distinguish himself as an anti-corruption warrior, which resonates with an electorate disillusioned by years of corrupt politicians (Bukele’s three predecessors have all been charged with corruption. One is in prison; two are on the run.)
Externally, relations with the Biden administration have been icy under Bukele, with San Salvador refusing to back a US-sponsored UN resolution condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.
What matters most to Salvadorans is the
dropping crime rate, which is why Bukele will likely cruise to reelection next year.
