El SALVADOR All POWER TO BUKELE

www.irgac.org, 2021

Electoral Studies, 2016

Latin America’s Pendular Politics, 2023

Putting an end to “los mismos de siempre” (the same as usual) has been a constant leitmotif of Nayib Bukele's campaign and since his election as President of the Salvadoran Republic. This idea embodies what has been played out in the last two elections in the country: presidential (February 2019) and legislative-municipal (March 2021).

Corruption, populism and Bukele (draft), 2021

(...) part of Latin America is suffering two common problems: corruption and populism. The first issue has is not exclusive of low ranks officers in the public administration. The "Panama papers" show the whole world that corruption is like a style of life of high-rank politicians. For example, the former presidents of Argentina, Macri, Kirchners husbands, and other politicians from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay, Perú, México, and Chile are or were part of criminal investigations (Goldstein, 2018). Also, there is an important fact: all the ideological spectrum has a representation in corruption. It is not an exclusive problem of left or right; instead, it is a problem that includes opposite ideologies such as the Partido dos Trabalhadores of Brazil that represents the social democracy and "Justos por el cambio," a central right party of Argentina. Even the "Panama Papers" show that corruption is part of the individuals in the middle of the capitalist system, as lawyers and people in business (Goldstein, 2018, Ruhl, 2011).

Politics, 2022

Studies on party system collapse or individual-party breakdowns view programmatic inconsistency or convergence as necessary for abrupt party system change. In theory, a new or fringe contender can suddenly emerge and disrupt the party system under such circumstances. We test that claim by examining Nayib Bukele’s 2019 presidential election victory in El Salvador. With data from the AmericasBarometer, we estimate probit models and predictive margins to examine the individual-level determinants of disruption in an institutionalised and ideologically polarised party system. The empirical results reveal that Bukele won amid salient ideological differences between traditional parties and that critical views towards democracy fueled his core support. Therefore, we conclude that a significant disruption in an institutionalised party system can occur notwithstanding robust ideological differences between leading contenders. Critical attitudes towards democracy can represent a driving force ...

CeMeCA’s Regional Expert Paper Series, 2022

This paper examines the current democratic breakdown in El Salvador, identifying factors and events in the country from 2019 to 2022 that have led to democratic backsliding, the process by which democracy as a political system loses traction. Indicators of backsliding show that El Salvador's shared characteristics of liberal democracy-free and fair electoral procedures accessible to all; freedoms of the press, to assembly, and to express political opinions; the rule of law; and basic human rights protections-are in peril. Given the events of the last several years under President Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's regime more closely resembles democratic failure facilitated by populist authoritarianism rather than one of democratizing momentum that it embodied in the first part of the twenty-first century.

PoLAR, 2019

This short article seeks to explain the FMLN's electoral debacle in the February 2019 presidential elections. From the series "Ethnographic Explainers: Contemporary Latin American Politics."

Anuario Latinoamericano – Ciencias Políticas y Relaciones Internacionales

Dossier américa Latina: desafíos y amenazas a la seguridad humana RESUMEN El propósito de este artículo es analizar la política de seguridad pública del presidente Nayib Bukele en los años 2019-2021. El objetivo principal del autor es presentar los ejes del plan del presidente en materia de lucha contra la delincuencia, así como analizar las medidas adoptadas y evaluar su eficacia en comparación con las estrategias de seguridad pública implementadas por sus predecesores en el período 2003-2019. El artículo consta de tres partes. En la primera, el autor caracteriza sintéticamente a las pandillas como la principal amenaza a la seguridad pública en El Salvador. En la segunda, describe la política de seguridad pública en El Salvador desde 2003 hasta 2019. Se centra en la percepción cambiante de las amenazas y los cambios en la ley, así como en los mecanismos y consecuencias del proceso de militarización de la seguridad. En la tercera parte del texto, el autor analiza el plan de lucha contra las maras propuesto por el presidente Bukele, tanto en sus declaraciones como a nivel práctico. El autor se centra en identificar y exponer los cambios y la continuidad de la política de seguridad pública implementada en El Salvador desde 2003.

LASA Forum, 2024

The state of exception looks set to remain in place until at least the 2024 general elections. In this article, I argue that the measure is less of a security strategy than a piece in Bukele’s political project that aims to cement his rule. Structured into four sections, the article discusses the security and political context prior to the state of exception; examines this legal condition; looks at Bukele’s undemocratic practices; and situates Bukele in the far right in Latin America. I conclude with some reflections on El Salvador’s outlook for 2024.

Center For Latin American Studies, 2009