2024-02-05 06:26:40
The Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele, will repeat his term after achieving an overwhelming majority in Sunday’s elections, according to the first counts. The president, who through a legal trick ran for re-election despite the fact that the Constitution of El Salvador prevents it, did not wait for the official results and self-proclaimed his victory hours before on X (formerly Twitter).
General view of the National Palace of El Salvador in celebration of Bukele’s victory.
Rodrigo Sura / EFE
Bukele, who sarcastically despises criticism of his authoritarianism and has come to refer to himself as a “cool dictator,” broke the electoral silence after casting his vote this Sunday and called on the population to vote to “continue fighting the gangs.” “, according to EFE. That has been the axis of his argument in his interventions. He has not made reference to other problems, such as state debt, the cost of living, the use of pension funds for government spending and allegations of his government’s negotiations with gangs, nor has he presented a government plan. .
In March 2022, he decreed the emergency regime with which he has cemented his controversial fight against gangs and citizen insecurity, during which 76,000 people have been detained, many of them without guarantee of their fundamental rights, according to activists and organizations. international.
Bukele kisses his wife, Gabriela Rodriguez, on the balcony of the presidential palace.
Moses Castle / AP/LaPresse
Although Congress granted him license to campaign since December, Bukele has stayed away from the streets and has not had public appearances.
All the polls showed him as a clear favorite both in the presidential elections and in the legislative elections that were voted on this Sunday. Bukele, a 42-year-old former publicist, faced, among others, the two parties that governed the country until the arrival of his party, Nuevas Ideas.
International influence
Bukele has a notable influence in Latin America in countries such as Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay, fostered by the tough policies implemented, innovation in economic matters with the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender, the critical stance towards organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and their leadership style.
Since his election in 2019, the Salvadoran head of state has stood out for his intensive use of social networks, his focus on public security, particularly in the fight against gangs, and his interest in technology and innovation, as demonstrates its commitment to bitcoin as legal currency in the country.
Military guards the streets of San Salvador (El Salvador), on the eve of the elections.
Rodrigo Sura / EFE
Some 6.2 million Salvadorans (740,000 abroad) were called to vote in these elections, which are held under the emergency regime decreed on March 27, 2022 by President Bukele, something that has not happened since the end of the civil war. in 1992. That conflict, which began in 1980, left 75,000 dead and 8,000 missing.
Newspaper Archive Agencies
Election day passed without serious incidents, although nine people were arrested for tearing electoral ballots, making political proclamations at polling places or appearing drunk (from yesterday, Saturday until Monday, dry law is in force in the country. ).
Bitcoin, Bukele’s economic bet that has not finished starting more than two years later
El Salvador captured the attention of the financial world in September 2021 with the adoption of the most popular cryptocurrency as legal tender. Two years after its implementation, massive use has not been recorded nor have the expectations generated by a project criticized for its opacity materialized.
The initiative, economist José Luis Magaña told EFE, has left “a black hole in public finances” because the information related to the more than 200 million dollars (about 185 million euros) used for its implementation, Bukele’s alleged daily purchases, the installation of ATMs and their maintenance have been placed under secrecy.
According to a survey by the University Institute of Public Opinion (Iudop), 88% of Salvadorans did not use bitcoin during 2023. According to figures from the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), family remittances received through cryptocurrency wallets in El Salvador registered a drop of 34.5% in 2023, compared to 2022, representing only 1% of the total remittances of 8,181.79 million dollars.
Regarding the foreseeable continuity of the project, Magaña explains that it is an overly publicized measure for the Bukele Government to back down, especially in a foreseeable second term. But an agreement with the International Monetary Fund “becomes increasingly necessary”, according to this economist, so the profile of the initiative could be lowered, given that in 2021 it was one of the brakes on receiving some 1.4 billion.
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