In January 2019, the then candidate for the Salvadoran presidency stated that “dictators like Maduro in Venezuela, Ortega in Nicaragua and Juan Orlando in Honduras will never have any legitimacy, because they stay in power by force and do not respect the will of their peoples.”
Three years later, already well into a presidency that he intends to exercise without any controls, Bukele seems to have changed his mind with respect to his peer. He has refrained from condemning the dictatorial acts in the OAS and has validated his candidacy to SICA. Bukele also endorses and joins the attacks on critical voices or journalists. Ortega is consolidating all the power around his person and closes the spaces of transparency. The Salvadoran president not only does not condemn his peer: he seems to imitate him.
Nayib Bukele cambió de opinión sobre Daniel Ortega
En enero de 2019, el entonces candidato a la presidencia salvadoreña afirmó que “dictadores como Maduro en Venezuela, Ortega en Nicaragua y Juan Orlando en Honduras jamás tendrán ninguna legitimidad, porque se mantienen en el poder a la fuerza y no respetan la voluntad de sus pueblos”.
Tres años después, ya adentrado en una presidencia que pretende ejercer sin controles, Bukele parece haber cambiado de opinión con respecto a su par. Se ha abstenido de condenar los hechos dictatoriales en la OEA y ha validado la candidatura al SICA, avala y se suma a los ataques a voces críticas o a periodistas, está consolidandotodo el poder en torno a su persona y cierra los espacios de transparencia. El presidente salvadoreño no solo no condena a su par: parece imitarlo.