The news coming from El Salvador, governed by Nayib Bukele, raises significant questions. On one hand, important non-governmental organizations denounce human rights violations, the dismantling of democratic institutions, the shrinking of public space, and the restriction of press freedom and freedom of expression. Dozens of journalists have had to go into exile for being critical of the government, with 40 of them just in June 2025.
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On the other hand, as a consequence of Bukele’s measures, a drastic reduction in violence and homicides committed by gangs is recorded, which is accompanied by arbitrary detentions, abuses in prisons, and trials without guarantees.
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A Supreme Court ruling in 2021, with judges close to Bukele thanks to a reform made by the Legislative Assembly, allowed the president to win a second term in February 2025, thus violating the constitutional rules that prohibit immediate reelection.
Salvadoran experts, academics, and journalists in exile interviewed by DW, whose names (known to this editorial team) are not mentioned here due to the risk to their safety and that of their families, analyzed this scenario and answered why, despite everything, a large sector of Salvadoran society continues to support Nayib Bukele.
Explain the Salvadoran contradiction
Salvadoran society moves within very contradictory information bubbles, they said. Despite the increasing authoritarianism, people think they are living in a democracy.
This is confirmed by the most recent survey from the University Institute of Public Opinion (Iudop) of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA): nine out of ten people say that it is very important to respect the Constitution and consider that they are building a democracy in El Salvador.
At the same time, almost five out of every 10 people (48.3%) affirm that if President Bukele is criticized, there are consequences, with the vast majority believing it could lead to jail. However, they also respond that Bukele’s greatest achievement is the fight against crime (66%).
Constitutional rights are being lost in order to maintain security and contain gangs, seems to be the explanation. 37% do not see any failures in this sixth year of administration. “He is a president who imposes order with an iron fist,” is the summary made by 54.3%.
“The “cool president” chosen by God”
Experts explain that Bukele has relied on communication as his main tool for political control. The “seduction relationship” he has built is based on at least four elements: Bukele is, according to the official discourse, a pure young man, a Jesus sent by God to save Salvadoran society from the violence and chaos it has suffered since the signing of the peace agreements.
That religious discourse has been very consistent and has deeply permeated the society of El Salvador, which is profoundly religious. Furthermore, it has a very Pentecostal religiosity, meaning that it appeals intensively to emotions.
Another aspect is the recovery of the deeply rooted militaristic narrative, analysts say, with references to the heroes of the nation, to a supposed patriotism. And their concessions to the Army allow them to remain in power, they emphasize.
Similar to governments with ultra-neoliberal right-wing populist models and a strong hand, such as the one led by Javier Milei in Argentina, Bukele resorts to a pop narrative, no longer addressing citizens, but fans, through influential YouTubers, such as Mexican influencer Luisito Comunica, or entertainment figures, such as Puerto Rican rapper Residente, from Calle 13, key to his strategy.
Experts argue that this is an authoritarianism with the discourse of “not being left or right, because that is the past.” This distracting and confusing narrative, which aims to be disruptive, promises a new politics, arrived from the divine, pure and without corruption: “I am simply a cool person who wants their nation to progress” would be the motto. An extreme right-wing model that goes hand in hand with Donald Trump’s MAGA project, for example. A fundamental factor is the silencing of the opposition.
Likewise, the image of Bukele as a ruler accepted by the masses, promoted, among others, by polling firms like Gallup, which, according to experts, has advisory ties to the president, is a fictional fact, unfounded, part of the strategy to keep him in power.
Poverty and cuts in education and health
In the economy of 6.3 million inhabitants, which depends on trade with the United States and remittances, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average annual rate of 2.1% between 2000 and 2023, according to the World Bank.
However, despite the increase in market confidence due to Bukele’s measures, poverty increased from 26.8% to 30.3% between 2019 and 2023, according to official figures cited by the World Bank. For 39% of those surveyed, the main problem is the economy. But for 40.2%, the economic situation has improved overall. The closure of public schools and health centers is affecting the population, according to 57%.
According to the survey, eight out of 10 people have hope and believe that El Salvador will be better in the next five years. However, experts point out that there is “great despair regarding the present.” Eight out of 10 people also stated that they are cutting back on their food consumption and that their incomes are not enough to cover their monthly needs.
Bukele: fantasy of renewal amidst depoliticization
With his strategy of tight and closed-fist security, and the introduction of bitcoin into the economy, Bukele has managed to install a disruptive utopian fantasy in a very depoliticized, disbelieving, and skeptical society, and could surely obtain two more terms, according to opinions.
Can we not expect Salvadoran society to mobilize against the rise of authoritarianism? Analysts indicate that repression and criminalization of protests do not allow it. Someone who could have been an opposing force, anti-corruption lawyer Ruth López, was imprisoned by Bukele, as well as other human rights activists and opposition candidates. Some are in exile.
Critical journalists are harassed and persecuted, and government police forces under Bukele’s watch raid their homes to sow terror. Journalistic work is practically impossible, and there is a fleeing of intellectuals. Women’s rights activists are also unable to continue their work. “We are running out of opposition,” they warn.
For experts, the “Bukele effect” is a compilation of many current and past autocratic references, dictators, and populists, such as Ortega in Nicaragua, previously Chavez in Venezuela, and even Duterte in the Philippines.
Bukele has already stated that he wants to install the single-party model, and 42.1% agree with a third presidential term for him. This is in an environment where there is no support from the international community, they say. According to analysts, the role of the European Union, for example, in reacting to the Foreign Agents Law, which restricts the work of civil society, has been very passive.