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...
The Ministry of Finance has classified as “tax secrecy” the information concerning companies that operate with public funds, even though publishing these data is one of the commitments stemming from the Servicio Ampliado (Extended Fund Facility, SAF) arrangement that...
A few days ago, the Legislative Assembly, wholly controlled by the Salvadoran dictator Nayib Bukele, swiftly approved constitutional reforms that allow him to remain in power indefinitely: they approved indefinite reelection for the office of president, just as Chávez...