Trumpism Shaping Salvadoran Politics

Two years ago, the small Central American country El Salvador elected former mayor of San Salvador Nayib Bukele as their next president. Bukele offered hope to a nation that was plagued with gang violence and political corruption. Nayib Bukele ran as a third party reformer against candidates from the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). Bukele ran a great campaign using social media to his advantage. He promised to bring about new change, revive the nation's economy, and aspired to improve their widespread poverty. Salvadorans were eager to see what Bukele would accomplish in his term as he was much different than his opponents.

Bukele after his victory in February 2019.

We are now two years removed from his historic victory and the perception of Nayib Bukele has shifted. Bukele pledged to be a different politician, but has turned out to be just as corrupt as his counterparts. Bukele has mistreated the coronavirus, negotiated with gangs, and been a corrupt politician. A Latin American digital newspaper , El Faro ,  has been critical of Bukele and his administration. In September of 2020, they found that there had already been almost fifteen accounts of corruption in his first fourteen months. This includes a mishandled coronavirus response and using his position to benefit his friends and family. There have also been stories about his negotiations with the infamous MS-13 gang. Bukele ran to end gang violence, but instead, has promised gang members better prison sentences if they were less violent and supported his political aspirations. However, Bukele has denied all of this. He accused the editors of El Faro of being involved in money laundering. El Faro is not the only news outlet he has attacked. There have been over sixty instances where he has criticized media outlets for tainting his image. Bukele has also targeted democratic institutions like the Supreme court and Congress. More recently, members of FMLN and ARENA have called for his removal stating that he is “mentally unfit” and “divisive”. However, this attempt was halted because they fear it would divide the country in a time when they need stability. Bukele’s actions have even troubled the Biden administration. The Biden administration is unwilling to meet with Bukele because they are discouraged by his idea of democracy. 

Doesn’t this all sound a little familiar. Nayib Bukele used Trumpism to gain power in El Salvador. When you compare the two, they have a lot in common. Both used social media (and specifically twitter) to campaign for their elections. Both denounce news outlets as  “fake” and seem to have a history of corruption. Here is the biggest comparison of them all: Both Bukele and Trump have tried to undermine democracy by sending supporters to Congress to pressure lawmakers. For Bukele, he sent troops to congress to pressure them to fund the fight against gang violence. While Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol to overturn a fair election. Trumpism has leaked into surrounding countries and is hurting their democracies. Even though Bukele has seemed to undermine democracy, he still carries a high approval rating from the Salvadoran people. El Salvador proves that Trumpism is not only in the United States and may be problematic to democracy for the foreseeable future. 

Sources

Aleman, M. (2021, February 10). El Salvador OPPOSITION reverses proposal to OUST PRESIDENT. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/el-salvador-opposition-proposes-presidents-removal/2021/02/09/23ab763e-6b38-11eb-a66e-e27046e9e898_story.html

Gressier, R. Series of Corruption Allegations Stains El Salvador's Promise - What Political Impact Will It Have?elfaro.net. https://www.elfaro.net/en/202009/el_salvador/24796/Series-of-Corruption-Allegations-Stains-El-Salvador’s-Promise-—-What-Political-Impact-Will-It-Have.htm 

Press, T. A. (2021, February 9). Biden officials turn down unannounced visit with El Salvador Pres. Nayib Bukele. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/biden-officials-turn-down-unannounced-visit-el-salvador-pres-nayib-n1257160 

Renteria, N., & Torres, N. (2019, February 3). Outsider wins El Salvador presidency, breaking two-party system. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-elsalvador-election/outsider-wins-el-salvador-presidency-breaking-two-party-system-idUSKCN1PS03W 

Simon, J. In El Salvador, a beacon of truth under threat. Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/analysis/el-faro-nayib-bukele-press-freedom.php 

1st Picture: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/can-el-salvador-s-president-elect-nayib-bukele-break-previous-n967181

2nd Picture: https://static.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/28226/a_el_salvador-bukele-09302019-1.jpg