Voters reward Bukele for gang crackdown that has transformed security in central American country
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has won a thumping victory in elections after voters cast aside concerns about erosion of democracy to reward him for a fierce gang crackdown that transformed security in the central American country.
Thousands of Bukele’s supporters clad in cyan blue and waving flags thronged San Salvador’s central square to celebrate his re-election, which the 42-year-old leader termed a “referendum” on his government.
Bukele declared himself the winner before official results were announced, claiming to have attained more than 85% of the vote. Provisional results showed Bukele winning 83% support with 31% of the ballots counted.
His New Ideas party is expected to win almost all of the 60 seats in the legislative body, tightening its grip on the country and bestowing Bukele, the most powerful leader in El Salvador’s modern history, with even more sway.
Well, in multiple ways, really.
There’s an uncomfortable fundamental truth that people will generally prefer a seemingly peaceful dictatorship that doesn’t negatively affect them personally over ostensibly democratic chaos and violent anarchy, even if plenty of other innocents get caught up in the mess. I honestly don’t know if I can say that that’s fundamentally wrong, and I’m not in any real position to comment on it because I have no idea what it’s like to be terrified every time I leave my house (El Salvador had a higher murder rate than active war zones), but that doesn’t change the fact that this is one incredibly slippery slope. It takes a very wise and benevolent person to wield that level of power in a fair and just way, and Bukele doesn’t exactly inspire confidence there. More than anything, I’m just thankful that I don’t have to make these kinds of decisions.
As someone who lived many years in Latin America, including one of the very dangerous countries, it’s not great. We make do, ingrain a bunch of precautions, and it becomes normal but it sucks.
Plus El Salvador had gangs that would randomly shoot civilians just as an initiation/show of force so it’s not even like you can make proper decisions to stay out of trouble.
I can see people choosing easily. There was an interview with a mother whose kid was allegedly wrongly imprisoned and even she agreed Bukele was doing the right thing (it was obviously a cherry-picked example but still…).