The problem is that populist leaders and parties, while broadly accepting the rules of the democratic game, have a rhetoric that strains the pluralist component of democracy.
El Salvador has become a large prison, and its president proudly displays the key that opens the cell. After two years of a state of emergency that seems to have no end, Nayib Bukele has managed, with broad popular support, to undermine the rule of law, the opposition and democracy.
President Bukele appears to have been fortunate, as three potential threats—linking him and his inner circle to drug trafficking and other questionable activities—disappeared in a single incident.
The Bukele family executes a multimillion-dollar expenditure on armies of developers dedicated to multiplying official propaganda on social networks and shutting down dissonant voices.
In a country where insecurity made life unbearable, brutality against alleged criminals and signs of authoritarianism are not only accepted, but even translated into votes.
In El Salvador, democracy can no longer be understood in its original sense, as a system with counterweights that would allow for divergent opinions. With the current absolute majority in the Legislative Assembly, the separation of powers has been eliminated.
