Right-wing lawmaker Marcela Villatoro fast-forwarded to the future to warn Salvadorans of their uncertain fate during the week that altered the nation’s history: “Tonight, democracy in this country has died.” The constitutional reform imposed last week by the...
“Ninety percent of developed countries allow the unlimited re-election of their head of government,” Nayib Bukele wrote on X, implying that El Salvador’s 31 July overhaul—which abolishes term limits, stretches the presidential mandate to six years, and eliminates the...
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved by an overwhelming majority a constitutional amendment that not only permits indefinite presidential re-election but also extends the presidential term from five to six years and abolishes the run-off vote. The measure,...
Now living in exile in Mexico and facing several legal proceedings in his homeland for his reporting, Martínez offered a stark assessment of Bukele’s dominance, his popularity, and the state of exception that has been in force in El Salvador since 2022. “In an...
The recent approval by El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly of a constitutional reform that modifies key elements of the political and electoral system is the latest example of a worrying trend towards the use of legislative power, without effective checks and balances,...
The trouble with aspiring dictators is that they seldom resist the temptation to entrench themselves in power. The playbook has been run time and again, especially in that tragically fertile ground known as Latin America. A popular ruler, promising change, gradually...
