El Salvador is experiencing the collapse of its post-war democratic system, while Bukele concentrates power under an authoritarian model legitimized by the promise of security.
Recently, the ruling Salvadoran party, Nuevas Ideas, inaugurated a political training school in Nuevo Cuscatlán. The event was headlined by Félix Ulloa, Vice President...
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.
