Political situation in El Salvador

El Salvador allows Bukele to run indefinitely

El Salvador's parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that abolishes the limitation of presidential terms. The initiative comes from incumbent President Nayib Bukele's party, which has a majority in the assembly. Bukele will thus be able to run an infinite number of times.

The reform also means that the president's term of office is extended from five to six years. The bill was passed by a vote of 57–3.

One of the three no votes, Marcela Villatoro from the Arena party, says that the proposal means the death knell for democracy in El Salvador.

- You do not understand what infinite re-election means: It entails an accumulation of power and weakens democracy, she says according to TT.

Human rights group: El Salvador is the new Venezuela

The constitutional changes in El Salvador mean that democracy is being undermined and that the country is heading towards a development similar to Venezuela. This is what Juanita Goebertus of the human rights group Human Rights Watch writes on X.

“It starts with a leader who uses his popularity to concentrate power and ends with dictatorship,” she writes.

The constitutional amendment means that presidential term limits are abolished, which allows President Nayib Bukele to run for office an unlimited number of times.