Nayib Bukele has exhibited immense power this Saturday in his inauguration. After the president of El Salvador swore a new mandate with his left hand placed on a copy of the Constitution and put on the presidential sash, the armed forces paraded at a steady pace along the same red carpet that the kings and queens had crossed shortly before. the foreign heads of state who attended the event. Bukele gave the military salute with a serious gesture from the balcony of the National Palace, a neoclassical building built in the historic center of San Salvador, the capital. In front of him, he silently observed the bronze equestrian statue of the national hero Gerardo Barrios, invaded by pigeons. In his first words, the president made continuous references to the glory of God and then assured that this is a moment of catharsis for him and for the nation he leads: “It is the most important moment in our recent history.”
Bukele has lived a day of overflowing emotions and that spirit has permeated his speech. Before he appeared on the balcony, a voice-over assured over the loudspeakers that he is the most influential and popular leader in Latin America, who is known as the millennial president or the president. cool. “Bukele has put El Salvador on the world agenda,” repeated the baritone voice that came out of nowhere. Then he appeared with a Napoleonic-cut jacket and gold finishes. He never wanted to lower the level of excitement. He said that during his first five-year term he has worked “a miracle” and has ushered in a new era that has split time in two, into a before and after his arrival in power. His wife, Gabriela Rodríguez, is “the best “first lady there has ever been” and the Central American nation, “the safest in the Western Hemisphere.” An Argentine pastor who preaches on television, Dante Gebel, later told him, looking him in the eye, that he was on his way to turning El Salvador into “the best country in the world.”
In the front row, in transparent chairs on which the organization had left fans to keep away the heat, Felipe VI, the King of Spain, listened to him, who received the greatest ovation. Near him, Daniel Noboa, the president of Ecuador, and, further away, Javier Milei, the Argentine president. A day before, the three held private meetings with Bukele, who is starting a controversial second presidential term that, in theory, is prohibited by law. However, the control and influence that the president exercises over Salvadoran institutions have paved the way for his re-election. Bukele enjoys great popularity for his successful war against gangs, which he has completely deactivated. To achieve this, he has managed to get Congress, which controls his party, to approve constant emergency regimes that give broad powers to the military and police and steal them from citizens, which has caused a deterioration of human rights in the country. .
With security under control, Bukele must now take charge of the economy. Poverty levels have increased and the State accounts do not add up. The pension debt must be paid and payments to investors must be made. The capital has been filled with pharaonic buildings that now have to be amortized. The president said that this will be his main purpose and that for this he will need, first of all, “the guidance of God.” Secondly, tireless work and, thirdly, “that the people defend tooth and nail each of the decisions that are made.” “The whole world has set its eyes on El Salvador, the results have been so great. We can do the same, but now with the economy,” he added. Next, he asked everyone present to raise their hands and swear to “unconditionally defend this national project.” “Following each of the steps to the letter, without complaining,” he finished that idea.
Bukele has received strong criticism for his authoritarian way of governing. He often says that he doesn’t care about outside opinions, but the reality is that the matter upsets him. Today he insisted several times that El Salvador is “a free and democratic country” no matter what the opposition says. What’s more, it has been recognized by “one hundred percent of the countries in the world.” The country without violence that he has achieved “is the greatest legacy in history and it is time to protect it like a lion.”
From the outside they do not see the country’s current moment in such euphoric terms. “In his first term, President Bukele brought El Salvador to the brink of a police state. Bukele today controls absolutely all powers of the Government and his security forces detain citizens at their discretion and without any guarantee of due process,” explains the deputy director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Juan Pappier. “It is understandable that many Salvadorans celebrate that the atrocious criminal violence of gangs has decreased significantly. The greatest risk is that, in a second term, Bukele will use all the legal scaffolding created against the gangs to further detain, prosecute and harass journalists, critics and opponents,” he adds.
That concern is shared by Judge Juan Antonio Durán, who is very critical of the drift of the justice system, where he observes that the burden of proof now falls on the accused, who must prove his innocence of what the authorities attribute to him. “Today’s investiture is the consolidation of a dictatorship,” Durán points out bluntly, upset that he has been re-elected despite constitutional barriers. And he continues: “It is the enthronement of a populist who disguised himself as a democrat, but who has repeatedly violated human rights.” Bukele considers that these are the unfair criticisms of his enemies, who do not value what he has achieved. In any case, El Salvador is in his hands and will be that way for at least another five years. Nobody overshadows Bukele.
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