As expected, in a historic precedent never witnessed before in El Salvador, the current president of Palestinian descent, Nayib Bukele, has decisively won the presidential and legislative elections in his country with an overwhelming victory exceeding 85%. His party, “New Ideas,” achieved a stunning result, securing over 90% of the parliamentary seats.
Despite these figures bringing to mind dishonest election results, international observers did not report any significant irregularities in the voting process. This led President Bukele to describe it as a “precedent in the history of world democracies.”
The result affirmed President Bukele’s gamble to ensure security for Salvadorans, regardless of the approach, as the winning card that secured his re-election and transformed him into a “governing model” in the eyes of the majority of Latin American nations plagued by drug cartels and organized crime.
However, his persona is a blend of populism and authoritarianism, according to critics from the elite and human rights activists within and outside of El Salvador. He portrayed himself as the “greatest dictator” at the outset of his war against gangs and the “dictator of the rising generations,” as described by the Spanish press.
On a personal and political level, President Bukele’s trajectory is an intriguing case. It has established the concept of “political stardom,” beyond the partisan polarization that governed El Salvador for 30 continuous years before his presidency in 2019, moving away from apparent U.S. influence on the continent’s countries.
This challenge was realized during a highly accelerated political journey, representing a historic blow to the National Liberation Front party, with which he began his political career in 2012. He formed his current party “New Ideas” after his refusal to be endorsed by the Front for the 2018 presidential elections, dismissing his capabilities. This prompted him to establish “New Ideas.”
President Bukele did not forgive the Front’s dismissal and maintained his opposition to the right-wing opponent “Arena,” delivering another blow by securing 56% of the parliamentary seats in 2021. Now, he is close to claiming all the seats in the recent Sunday elections.
It’s worth noting that the presidential term in El Salvador is five years, while the parliamentary term extends for four years. Additionally, President Bukele reduced the composition of the parliament from 84 seats to 60 this time.
On the other hand, opinion polls expect a sweeping victory for President Bukele’s party in the municipal elections, which will take place in four weeks. The President also made radical changes to their composition, described by the opposition as malicious amendments, from a carefully planned geographical redistribution to ensure a “New Ideas” party majority in the municipalities.
Critics of President Bukele consider his crackdown on drug cartels and organized crime and the detention of over 70,000 of their members, as well as the construction of the largest prison in the Americas with high-quality surveillance capabilities, accommodating 40,000 inmates, as mere “populist strategies” pursued after assuming the presidency, ensuring the security of his party’s seats in parliament in late 2021.
However, his long-term goals were not limited to eliminating gangs but primarily focused on securing a second term. The opposition website “El Faro” stated that the moment of relief for 7 million Salvadorans from the specter of random killings, extortion, and intimidation by the gangs might extend for at most two years, a plan devised by President Bukele.
Afterward, the economic issue, unemployment, health, and education will become critical, but President Bukele will be in his second term by then. He will be indifferent to his success in addressing these issues, as he showed no signs of progress in his first term. Moreover, his adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender for El Salvador upon assuming the presidency in 2019 resulted in a severe loss for the country, with the collapse of the digital currency’s value globally in 2022.
Furthermore, some critics doubt that the war on gangs was merely an exaggerated police campaign to satisfy the majority’s thirst for revenge against the gangs. Government-owned Spanish channel broadcasted a report six months ago, obtaining a confession from a Salvadoran police officer, admitting that the government forces each team to arrest ten gang members daily. If they fail to execute the mission, they are required to arrest any suspected individuals, solely to maintain the quota.
This strengthens the narrative of numerous human rights organizations and many families in El Salvador, accusing the government of wrongfully arresting their children who have never been involved with the gangs.
Human rights organizations and the opposition believe that President Bukele employs this approach to cover up his democratic transgressions and his pursuit of monopolizing all authorities, stifling the opposition.
All his critics regard his dismissal of the Attorney General four years ago and his interference in appointing a new majority of court-aligned judges to the Constitutional Court, creating a loophole in the constitution enabling him to seek a second term, as the clearest evidence of his dictatorial approach. Some still consider his recent victory invalid because Salvadoran law does not allow consecutive presidential terms, and the loophole was manufactured.
In reality, President Bukele’s personality possesses traits that have empowered him, despite the criticisms. The young man of Palestinian descent is the fifth child of the late businessman and engineer Armando Bukele, who boasted during his lifetime that his scientific intelligence exceeded Einstein’s. The Salvadoran press circulates claims that “charisma” and intelligence are inherent traits in all Bukele family members.
This seems to have facilitated President Bukele’s rapid ascendancy to success and fame. He was known to hold executive positions, starting from managing a nightclub, establishing a large advertising company, before embarking on his political career in 2012 as the mayor of a town near the capital. Subsequently, he won the mayoralty of the capital city, then revealed his intention to run for presidency and emerged victorious. Throughout his journey, he remained confident in his aspirations, according to his allies and adversaries.
While the opposition summarizes President Bukele’s tenure as “neither gangs nor democracy,” they believe that the president has no intention of lifting the state of emergency imposed since March 2022.
The majority of Salvadoran society has demonstrated a need for security before employment and democracy, even if innocent individuals are inadvertently affected by the government’s actions.
Note: This is a literal translation of a news article from Arabic to English. The content and views expressed in this article do not reflect the views of the translator or the platform.
