The election in El Salvador

The election resembles a coronation of the "world's coolest dictator" 

 

El Salvador's controversial president Nayib Bukele is very popular and is expected to win today's election in a big way. The newspaper El Faro describes it as Bukele competing against himself.  

 

- It's a coronation, says Noah Bullock at the human rights organization Cristosal.  

 

Bukele controls all state institutions in the country, notes the BBC. In recent years, he has been ruthless against the gang violence that has long plagued the country. Over 75,000 people have been arrested, which is more than one percent of the population. Human rights organizations claim that thousands of them are completely innocent, or have been forced to do menial jobs for the gangs.  

 

But the strategy has gone down well with many. 

 

- It has been a complete turnaround. I feel so safe here now, says voter Francisco Villegas to the BBC.

 

Bukele himself has described himself as "the world's coolest dictator", according to AFP.  

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The US does not think that Bukele should be allowed to stand in the election  

 

Several actors, including the US State Department, believe that El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, who is expected to be re-elected today, does not even have the right to run for office. This is reported by the Salvadoran newspaper La Prensa Gráfica.  

 

It is the first time in nearly 100 years that voters can vote for a president seeking re-election. This after a group of judges interpreted Article 152 of the constitution in a new way in the spring of 2021. Critics say that Bukele handpicked the judges and the US has placed all five on its list of corrupt and undemocratic actors.  

 

Several other questionable corrections to the election process have also been implemented, writes El Faro. 

 

- I think the election will suffer from a lack of legitimacy, says Carolina Jiménez at the organization Washington Office on Latin America.