The Take: ‘World’s coolest dictator’ set for re-election in El Salvador
10 months, 3 weeks ago

The Take: ‘World’s coolest dictator’ set for re-election in El Salvador

Al Jazeera  

President Nayib Bukele governs with an ‘iron fist’, but he’s popular and poised to win a second term in Sunday’s polls. Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s millennial president, governs with an “iron fist”. But polls show voters approve, putting Bukele on track for a landslide re-election victory. In this episode: Manuel Rapalo, Al Jazeera correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra and Sarí el-Khalili with our host, Malika Bilal.

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History of this topic

Bukele claims he cleaned up El Salvador. But at what cost?
3 months ago

Bukele claims he cleaned up El Salvador. But at what cost?

LA Times  

The last time I was in El Salvador, nearly a decade ago, the capital was gripped by the violence of gangs who terrified people — dictating where they could shop, work, go to school or even cross a street. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele gives a speech during the inauguration of an industrial data center in Ciudad Arce, El Salvador. …

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says security sustainable without a state of emergency
3 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says security sustainable without a state of emergency

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Nearly 2½ years into a state of emergency that has suspended key civil liberties in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele says the security advances achieved are sustainable without what was supposed to be a temporary measure. Each month, El Salvador’s congress, which is comfortably controlled by Bukele’s New Ideas party and its allies, approves another …

Trump’s foreign strategy still rests heavily on courting autocrats
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Trump’s foreign strategy still rests heavily on courting autocrats

LA Times  

When El Salvador’s autocratic president, Nayib Bukele, celebrated his inauguration this summer, guests of honor included Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson and Rep. Matt Gaetz, the firebrand Republican from Florida. Trump has repeatedly praised Orbán as “a great man, a strong man.” Along with Bukele, both controversial leaders — as well as Argentina’s president, Javier Milei — spoke at this …

US dampens criticism of El Salvador’s president as migration overtakes democracy concerns
6 months, 3 weeks ago

US dampens criticism of El Salvador’s president as migration overtakes democracy concerns

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — In 2021, the Biden administration turned down a meeting request with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, on a trip to Washington, snubbing the self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator” for fear a photo op would embolden his attempts to expand his power base. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and senior White House and State Department officials, attended …

El Salvador’s president gets rock-star welcome at conservative gathering outside Washington
10 months ago

El Salvador’s president gets rock-star welcome at conservative gathering outside Washington

Associated Press  

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele received a rock-star welcome Thursday at a conservative gathering outside Washington as he urged people to “unapologetically fight” against what he called “dark forces.” At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Bukele told people to use El Salvador as a warning. “The next president of the United States must not only …

El Salvador’s autocratic president gets rock-star welcome at pro-Trump CPAC event
10 months ago

El Salvador’s autocratic president gets rock-star welcome at pro-Trump CPAC event

LA Times  

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., on Thursday. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele received a rock-star welcome at a conservative gathering outside Washington as he urged attendees to “unapologetically fight” against what he called “dark forces.” At Thursday’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Bukele — whose policies …

El Salvador's 'coolest dictator' Bukele wins supermajority in Congress after tense vote counting
10 months ago

El Salvador's 'coolest dictator' Bukele wins supermajority in Congress after tense vote counting

India TV News  

San Salvador: El Salvador's self-proclaimed 'coolest dictator', President Nayib Bukele, and his New Ideas party won the supermajority in Congress that allows the leader free reign in governance, electoral officials announced on Monday. Bukele and El Salvador's Congress El Salvador's Congress in 2023 passed electoral reforms that reduced the number of seats in the unicameral chamber to 60 from 84, …

‘Coolest dictator’ to ‘philosopher king,’ Nayib Bukele’s path to reelection in El Salvador
10 months, 2 weeks ago

‘Coolest dictator’ to ‘philosopher king,’ Nayib Bukele’s path to reelection in El Salvador

Associated Press  

MEXICO CITY — El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele has called himself the “world’s coolest dictator” or as his X profile read on election day, the “Philosopher King.” Now he’ll likely have five more years to provoke, surprise and raise concerns, after appearing to win a landslide reelection as the Central American country’s president. Bukele vowed to ignore the ruling and tweeted: …

Who is Nayib Bukele, the world's 'coolest dictator', who has claimed a win in El Salvador's presidential polls?
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Who is Nayib Bukele, the world's 'coolest dictator', who has claimed a win in El Salvador's presidential polls?

Firstpost  

Salvadorans are celebrating President Nayib Bukele’s victory in the elections that ended on Sunday, even before the results are announced. Unapologetic “dictator” El Salvador’s gang-busting President Nayib Bukele, who claimed re-election with an overwhelming majority Sunday, has sarcastically embraced the moniker of “dictator” and breezily shrugs off criticism of human rights transgressions. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele greets supporters from …

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes aim at critics in looking ahead to 2nd presidential term
10 months, 2 weeks ago

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes aim at critics in looking ahead to 2nd presidential term

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele is savoring what appears to be a landslide reelection victory, and is railing against his international critics and the press. “It will be the first time in a country that just one party exists in a completely democratic system,” Bukele said, adding that “the entire opposition together was pulverized.” Bukele …

El Salvador's Bukele claims 'record' reelection victory
10 months, 2 weeks ago

El Salvador's Bukele claims 'record' reelection victory

New Indian Express  

SAN SALVADOR: Fireworks erupted in El Salvador's capital Sunday as President Nayib Bukele claimed a massive first-round reelection victory on the back of a "war" on gangs credited with slashing homicide rates in the violence-weary country. Bukele had already claimed a "record" victory on X, formerly Twitter, hours before, as supporters set off fireworks in several areas of the capital, …

El Salvador votes with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead
10 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador votes with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead

The Hindu  

El Salvador goes to the polls on February 4 with victory for gang-busting President Nayib Bukele in the bag and the only question of how many seats his party will claim in a new-look parliament. Mr. Bukele, 42, enjoys approval ratings hovering around 90% and polls as Latin America's most popular leader, credited with slashing the country's homicide rate and …

Self-described ‘world’s coolest dictator’ on track to win El Salvador election
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Self-described ‘world’s coolest dictator’ on track to win El Salvador election

LA Times  

President Nayib Bukele waves to supporters after voting Sunday in San Salvador. Asked about concerns that Bukele was seeking reelection despite the constitutional ban, he brushed it aside, saying, “What the people want is something else.” El Salvador’s traditional parties from the left and right that created the vacuum Bukele first filled in 2019 remain in shambles. Duarte said the …

El Salvador’s Bukele claims landslide election win
10 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador’s Bukele claims landslide election win

Al Jazeera  

With soaring approval ratings and virtually no competition, the president had been expected to secure a second term. Thousands of Bukele’s supporters clad in cyan blue and waving flags thronged San Salvador’s central square to celebrate his re-election, which the 42-year-old leader termed a “referendum” on his government. China’s embassy in the capital, San Salvador, congratulated Bukele and his party …

Why the 'world's coolest dictator' is on course for a landslide win in El Salvador
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Why the 'world's coolest dictator' is on course for a landslide win in El Salvador

NPR  

Why the 'world's coolest dictator' is on course for a landslide win in El Salvador Enlarge this image toggle caption Fred Ramos for NPR Fred Ramos for NPR MEXICO CITY — El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, the self-proclaimed "world's coolest dictator," is on course to win reelection by a landslide on Sunday, in a show of approval for his draconian …

El Salvador goes to polls with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead
10 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador goes to polls with gang-busting Bukele miles ahead

New Indian Express  

SAN SALVADOR: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele is all but guaranteed a resounding victory in elections on Sunday, with his no-holds-barred war on gangs having earned him approval ratings hovering around 90 percent. Despite concerns about rights violations, authoritarianism and the economy, 42-year-old Bukele enjoys widespread support for slashing the country's homicide rate and restoring a semblance of normalcy to …

Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's unapologetic 'dictator'
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's unapologetic 'dictator'

New Indian Express  

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR: El Salvador's gang-busting President Nayib Bukele has proudly embraced the monicker of "dictator" and breezily shrugs off criticism of human rights transgressions. Bukele has denounced rare protesters for "vandalism," and called independent media and critics liars and defenders of criminality. "He fosters a cult of personality; there's devotion to him," analyst Michael Shifter of the Inter-American …

El Salvador’s Bukele has everyone’s attention as he seeks reelection in spite of the constitution
10 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador’s Bukele has everyone’s attention as he seeks reelection in spite of the constitution

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR — Love him or hate him, all eyes are on Nayib Bukele. Patrons sit at a food store decorated with a mural of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who is running for re-election, in downtown San Salvador, El Salvador, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. To some, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is a national hero who beat back the …

‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for re-election
10 months, 3 weeks ago

‘Unwaveringly loyal’: Why El Salvador’s Bukele is poised for re-election

Al Jazeera  

President Nayib Bukele seeks to consolidate his power in Sunday’s vote, despite an outcry over human rights violations. “It doesn’t matter if they want to write negative things about the president,” he said of Bukele’s critics, among them non-governmental organisations. “I’ve walked through the dangerous communities, and until those NGOs walk through those streets, they won’t understand that this isn’t …

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes his presidential reelection campaign beyond the country’s borders
11 months, 3 weeks ago

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele takes his presidential reelection campaign beyond the country’s borders

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele took his presidential reelection campaign beyond his tiny country’s borders this week to capitalize on his rising profile across Latin America, and he affirmed that he doesn’t aspire to indefinite reelection. In April 2023, the commission called on El Salvador to lift the state of emergency instituted in March 2022 that …

Fears of violence, memories of civil war haunt L.A. Salvadorans over Bukele reelection bid
11 months, 4 weeks ago

Fears of violence, memories of civil war haunt L.A. Salvadorans over Bukele reelection bid

LA Times  

Henry Prudencio, right, Balmore Membreno and Karla Cativo host the “Resistencia Comunitaria” radio program in a studio at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory last month. As the hour-long radio program unfolded one recent evening, its hosts mixed protest anthems like “Si me matan,” Silvana Estrada’s homage to Mexico’s femicide victims, and Los de Abajo’s “Resistencia” with pointed commentary about Bukele’s …

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele granted leave to campaign for reelection
1 year ago

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele granted leave to campaign for reelection

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador’s Congress granted President Nayib Bukele leave for six months Thursday to allow him to campaign for reelection despite a constitutional prohibition and approved the president’s selection of his private secretary to be the country’s interim leader. Vice President Félix Ulloa was also granted leave to campaign again as Bukele’s running mate. Congress then …

El Salvador leader touts hosting Miss Universe pageant. Critics say he’s distracting from abuses of power
1 year, 1 month ago

El Salvador leader touts hosting Miss Universe pageant. Critics say he’s distracting from abuses of power

LA Times  

Video montages of pageant contestants in sashes enjoying El Salvador’s beaches, snapping selfies in front of fireworks and strolling through downtown San Salvador speckled social media last week as celebrations for the Miss Universe 2023 pageant kicked off in the Central American country. “As President Bukele said, El Salvador is changing,” R’Bonney Gabriel, Miss Universe 2022, said in a speech …

El Salvador’s President Bukele registers for 2024 reelection -- unconstitutionally, critics say
1 year, 1 month ago

El Salvador’s President Bukele registers for 2024 reelection -- unconstitutionally, critics say

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele registered as his party’s candidate to seek re-election in the country’s presidential vote next year, a decision already raising eyebrows Friday because the constitution prohibits it. El Salvador’s Constitution prohibits reelection, but in 2021, the country’s Supreme Court of Justice ruled that one of its articles allows the president — who serves …

El Salvador’s President Bukele registers for 2024 reelection — which the constitution does not allow
1 year, 1 month ago

El Salvador’s President Bukele registers for 2024 reelection — which the constitution does not allow

LA Times  

Members of the presidential security command surround El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, center right, as he addresses supporters in San Salvador on Friday. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele registered as his party’s candidate to seek reelection in the country’s presidential vote next year, a decision raising concern Friday because the constitution prohibits it. Thousands of Bukele’s supporters had gathered early …

Commentary: Why I support Salvadoran President Bukele, the scourge of gangs and corrupt politicians
1 year, 4 months ago

Commentary: Why I support Salvadoran President Bukele, the scourge of gangs and corrupt politicians

LA Times  

It’s no secret that I support Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador. At first I was skeptical and even wrote a column titled “Is Nayib Bukele the real deal or just another pajero?” I assumed that he may have been just another corrupt politician similar to the likes of Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderon Sol, Francisco Flores, Tony Saca, Mauricio …

Inside the growing cult of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Latin America’s political star
1 year, 5 months ago

Inside the growing cult of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, Latin America’s political star

LA Times  

A woman walks past a billboard in Buenos Aires promoting Argentinian presidential candidate Santiago Cuneo alongside an image of El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele. “If Bukele was able to subdue crime in El Salvador, why are security policies less effective in other countries?” asked the Colombian magazine Semana, which recently devoted its cover to the Salvadoran leader with the headline: …

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele nominated for reelection despite constitutional questions
1 year, 5 months ago

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele nominated for reelection despite constitutional questions

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — President Nayib Bukele was officially nominated by his New Ideas party Sunday to run for reelection next year, brushing aside objections from legal experts and opposition figures who say El Salvador’s constitution prohibits his candidacy. New Ideas also announced that current Vice President Felix Ulloa would run for reelection in the ballot scheduled for Feb. …

El Salvador bets safety on incarceration; unveils new prison
1 year, 10 months ago

El Salvador bets safety on incarceration; unveils new prison

Associated Press  

TECOLUCA, El Salvador — When El Salvador began making mass arrests of people with suspected gang affiliations last year, President Nayib Bukele ordered the construction of what would be the largest prison in Latin America. Bukele put it in simple terms in a tweet Thursday: “El Salvador has managed to go from being the world’s most dangerous country, to the …

Bukele’s re-election bid fuels new concern in El Salvador
2 years, 3 months ago

Bukele’s re-election bid fuels new concern in El Salvador

Al Jazeera  

While many welcome president’s plan to seek second term, activists say it could hasten further rights violations. “The constitutional court can’t issue rulings that openly go against the constitution,” said Leonor Arteaga, a Salvadoran lawyer and director of the Impunity and Grave Human Rights Violations programme at the Due Process of Law Foundation. “History has shown us that when a …

El Salvador president re-election bid draws strong reaction
2 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador president re-election bid draws strong reaction

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — In the hours since El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced he would seek re-election despite a constitutional ban, opinion quickly divided. Bukele announced he would seek re-election in a televised speech Thursday night, El Salvador’s Independence Day, riding a wave of popularity from his crackdown on gangs. Bukele’s current five-year term ends in 2024, but …

El Salvador’s Bukele says he will seek re-election despite ban
2 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador’s Bukele says he will seek re-election despite ban

Al Jazeera  

Experts say President Nayib Bukele’s move would violate at least four articles of El Salvador’s constitution. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has said he plans to seek a second five-year term in office, despite the country’s constitution prohibiting presidents from having consecutive terms. “And thanks to the new configuration of the democratic institution of our country, now El Salvador will …

El Salvador president’s reelection bid despite constitutional ban draws strong reaction
2 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador president’s reelection bid despite constitutional ban draws strong reaction

LA Times  

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, pictured last November at a cryptocurrency event, announced Thursday that he would seek reelection in 2024. In the hours since Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced he would seek reelection despite a constitutional ban, opinion has quickly divided. Bukele’s current five-year term ends in 2024, but observers had long expected the announcement, especially since the Constitutional Chamber …

El Salvador’s Bukele must change course before it’s too late
3 years ago

El Salvador’s Bukele must change course before it’s too late

Al Jazeera  

December 1 marks the end of the first half of Nayib Bukele’s five-year term as president of El Salvador. When the young leader took office on June 1, 2019, the nation’s homicide rate was among the highest in Latin America, women’s rights were severely under threat due to some of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the world, and victims of …

Thousands protest in El Salvador against Bukele government
3 years, 2 months ago

Thousands protest in El Salvador against Bukele government

Al Jazeera  

Thousands of protesters have marched in El Salvador’s capital San Salvador against the actions of President Nayib Bukele’s government, including the move to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. “People are starting to get tired of this authoritarian government, anti-democratic,” Ricardo Navarro, the head of the environmentalist NGO Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology, told the AFP news agency. “He …

A New Bit Coined: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele changes from 'dictator' to 'coolest dictator in the world' on Twitter
3 years, 3 months ago

A New Bit Coined: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele changes from 'dictator' to 'coolest dictator in the world' on Twitter

Firstpost  

The US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jean Manes has recently said that democracy is on the decline in El Salvador San Salvador, El Salvador: The top US diplomat in El Salvador said Tuesday she sees “a decline in democracy” in the country, where President Nayib Bukele changed his Twitter profile to read “the coolest dictator in the world.” The US State …

El Salvador president Nayib Bukele changes Twitter profile description to 'dictator'
3 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador president Nayib Bukele changes Twitter profile description to 'dictator'

Firstpost  

A member of the civic group Citizen’s Action has called it an attempt to ridicule the feelings of the public, who marched against Bukele last week San Salvador, El Salvador: El Salvador’s bitcoin-pushing president apparently changed his Twitter profile description to “dictator” Monday, in what might be an ironic comment on last week’s protests against him. “Changing his Twitter profile …

Is El Salvador’s democracy under threat?
3 years, 3 months ago

Is El Salvador’s democracy under threat?

Al Jazeera  

On Tuesday, September 14 at 19:30 GMT: El Salvador this month became the first country to declare Bitcoin legal tender, just weeks after President Nayib Bukele and his Nuevas Ideas party passed a law officially adopting the cryptocurrency alongside the US dollar. But while Bukele says Bitcoin and the state-run Chivo digital wallet app will economically liberate millions of Salvadorans …

El Salvador court drops ban on presidential reelection
3 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador court drops ban on presidential reelection

LA Times  

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele waves during his annual address June 1 to the nation before Congress in San Salvador. El Salvador’s top court and its election authority have tossed aside what seemed to be a constitutional ban on consecutive presidential reelection, setting the stage for President Nayib Bukele to potentially seek a second term in 2024. The Supreme Court’s …

El Salvador court says presidents can serve two straight terms
3 years, 3 months ago

El Salvador court says presidents can serve two straight terms

Al Jazeera  

Ruling paves the way for incumbent Nayib Bukele to stand for re-election in 2024. El Salvador’s top court has ruled that the country’s president can serve two consecutive terms, opening the door for incumbent Nayib Bukele to stand for re-election in 2024. Issued late on Friday, the ruling was handed down by judges appointed by lawmakers from Bukele’s ruling party …

Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s Bitcoin messiah
3 years, 5 months ago

Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s Bitcoin messiah

Al Jazeera  

‘The coolest president in the world’ is transforming El Salvador into a Bitcoin wonderland. In June, El Salvador became the first country ever to recognise the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender, just days after millennial President Nayib Bukele – who defines himself on Twitter as “officially the coolest president in the world” – announced his cool crypto-vision at a Bitcoin …

US report: Allies of El Salvador’s president deemed corrupt
3 years, 7 months ago

US report: Allies of El Salvador’s president deemed corrupt

Associated Press  

MIAMI — Allies of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, including his Cabinet chief, have been included in a list of senior officials in Central America deemed corrupt by the U.S. State Department, according to a copy of a report obtained by The Associated Press. “But the choices he and his allies in the Salvadoran Congress make, that are eviscerating El Salvador’s …

El Salvador’s millennial president is a man with one vision: Power
3 years, 7 months ago

El Salvador’s millennial president is a man with one vision: Power

LA Times  

A few days after he led a coup, the president of El Salvador uploaded a video onto TikTok of him gliding in a military vehicle while hundreds of soldiers salute. “Today we breathe different air.” President Nayib Bukele has called himself “an instrument of God.” But what Bukele’s “new history” will bring is uncertain, and to some, unnerving. “He’s an …

El Salvador’s long-dominant parties in crisis after drubbing
3 years, 8 months ago

El Salvador’s long-dominant parties in crisis after drubbing

Associated Press  

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Saúl Meléndez, a former fighter during El Salvador’s civil war, was for years a loyal member of the leftist political party formed by his fellow ex-guerrillas after the war. Meléndez estimates that the FMLN has lost 60% of its members in Mejicanos to New Ideas “because we lost the hope that we deposited with our …

Allies of El Salvador’s Bukele win absolute majority in Congress
3 years, 9 months ago

Allies of El Salvador’s Bukele win absolute majority in Congress

Al Jazeera  

El Salvador’s populist leader extends power, becoming the first president in nearly three decades to have a majority in Congress. El Salvador’s populist President Nayib Bukele will have control of Congress as of May, according to official results, after his allies won 61 of 84 seats in legislative elections and dealt a severe setback to the country’s traditional parties. Bukele …

El Salvador president consolidates power amid fears of authoritarianism
3 years, 9 months ago

El Salvador president consolidates power amid fears of authoritarianism

LA Times  

A year ago, the president of El Salvador denounced the opposition-controlled congress as a collection of “criminals” and stormed into the legislative palace with heavily armed troops and police in riot gear. At one point last year, Bukele told a group of international bankers: “If you lived for one day in El Salvador, you would set fire to all the …

El Salvador elections: President Bukele set to gain more control
3 years, 9 months ago

El Salvador elections: President Bukele set to gain more control

Al Jazeera  

San Salvador, El Salvador – Salvadorans are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect the country’s 84-member National Assembly in a vote that civil society groups fear could destabilise the democratic order imposed by a 1992 peace accord that ended a 12-year civil war. Voters will choose 84 legislators to represent them in the national assembly for the next …

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