Nayib Bukele, President Days ago, El Salvador allowed photographs to be taken with the image of a warrior. He was holding a highly effective rifle in both hands that could shoot down drones from long range. On the one hand, this only strengthened his image as a doting president. “safe hand” and brutal. However, he pointed to the sky and told the opposition that there was no room for a miracle other than his continued rule in El Salvador. The photo of him using this advanced weapon belonging to the DroneShield company is his flag. election campaign for the purpose of elections between February 4, 2024.
Magna Carta from that small Central American country prohibitions the consecutive re-election. bukele One popularity reached here 90%beaten militarization of everyday life, giving him carte blanche to break this insurmountable rule. Achieved without much effort Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice He forced the interpretation of the text in order to be a candidate. He did nothing but this fake to Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega and in this way he signed up for a new race in which he was already a clear winner.
“The existence of primary candidacy You do not meet the requirements for the position you are applying for “And in addition, he held the highest position in the executive branch without retiring, and he underestimated the rules and the level of concentration of power that had been achieved in the country without the Constitution and authorities capable of implementing the laws.” Cristosal, an organization with more than 20 years of experience in defending human rights in El Salvador “In this way, Bukele will look in the mirror of the world,” said Ruth Eleonora López, anti-corruption director of . Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, Dictator who was both head of state and candidate in the 1930s.
A weakened opposition
“The election campaign begins with a weakened opposition and no chance of victory.” introduced the digital magazine ‘El Faro’. The four competitive parties will begin their proselytizing activities with chattering intensity.
They tried to form an alliance, but everything remained a good and temporary declaration of intent. Within the scope of this innovation, some 6.1 million Salvadorans 678 thousand people residing in the country and living abroad will be able to elect not only the president but also parliamentary and municipal officials.
New ideasBukele’s party He will receive 68.4 percent of the votesAccording to a recent study by Francisco Gavidia University. ‘El Faro’ reported that those who abstained or canceled the vote on this issue ranked second with 19.1 percent, and this was also to the benefit of Bukele and his party. Opponents of re-election barely testify. ARENA on the right and FMLN on the left currently account for 4.3% and 2.8% of adhesions. Nuestro Tiempo has a 2% preference and Fuerza Solidaria has a 1.5% preference.
Political benefits of the “hard hand”
“We do not follow the fate that others have drawn for us. Today, four years after our Government, no one even dares to deny that the smallest country on the continent has for the first time taken the first big steps to realize its dream. “El Salvador has gone from being the world capital of murders to the largest in Latin America “It has become a safe city,” he wrote. bukele on social networks the day he was seen with his anti-drone weapon. In 2023, murder rate it was him Eight per 100,000 people. When he came to the presidency, this rate was 45 per 100,000 people..
Bukele built his project of continuity in power on the following basis: Security Policy socially accepted despite systematic complaints Human rights violations, obvious cases of torture and disappearances.
HE exception regime It has been in effect for 19 months and has jailed more than 70,000 people linked to Marash gangs linked to the crime, extortion and drug trafficking that have devastated Salvadoran cities. Of this total, 1,600 are minors. Even ARENA candidate Joel Sánchez considered the Government program an affront to freedoms and called for defending them at the ballot box. “I am a humanist committed to my country,” he said. The President has been extremely indifferent to the difficulties.
“They criticized and condemned us for every decision we made. Intellectuals, journalists, politicians and organizations from all over the world were discussing what we were doing.” “For Bukele”that discussion is over“because “the decisions we made were right.”
Regional “buccelization”
His model attracts sympathy from the hard right that is beginning to raise its head in different countries in the region. Their spokespersons observe with sympathy the architectural project that implemented the “iron fist” program: mega prison with the capacity to lock more 40,000 prisoners.
a possibility “buccelization” As Latinobarómetro’s latest survey of 17 countries revealed months ago, the rise of security policies in some countries is covert and consistent with a decline in the value placed on democracy. Of the 19,205 people interviewed, only 48% value institutional stability; This is 15 points less than in 2010.