Nayib Bukele said he cured El Salvador of the “cancer” of gangs

President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukeleassured in a press conference this Sunday that his administration had managed to cure the country of the “cancer” of gangs and defended the state of exception that had been in place for almost two years.

,El Salvador had cancer, gangs controlled 85% of the national territory, But we did the surgery and we’re going to come out healthy, without gang cancer,” he said.

Salvador’s president rejects criticism human rights organization till exception status and acknowledged the detention of thousands of innocent people as “errors”.

“We turned the murder capital of the world, the most dangerous country in the world, into the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, and the only way to do that is to stop all the murderers,” he said in his press conference.

The ruler justified it guard The incarceration rate is among the highest in the world and assurances are given that all police officers “make mistakes.”

After a bloody weekend with 87 killings, Bukele ordered a state of exception that led to almost 76,000 people And has reduced murders to historic lows (officially 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023) in the country with the most criminal violence on the planet.

Regarding the implementation of his emergency rule, Bukele said: “If you ask Latinos in the United States, we 100% agree with what we’re doing here.

Furthermore, he highlighted the influx of Salvadorans into polling stations designated by foreign countries, especially in the United States. Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

When asked what could be expected from the second government under his command, he assured that, once security has been saved by the elimination of gangs, which continues economic recovery From El Salvador.

During the post-election press conference, the Salvadoran head of state referred to his Argentinian counterpart, xavier mileyAnd praised him.

,I wish you all the best and if we can cooperate on something, we are at your service.“, he assured, adding that he had a telephone conversation with the liberal leader before he formally assumed the presidency.

Bukele also said that, through his officials, he offered help on security matters to the region’s minister, Patricia Bullrich, However, he highlighted that Argentina’s situation is different from El Salvador’s. “Since the problem is small, the medicine can also be small”,

The President of Salvador also denied the need for it this Sunday constitutional reform which allows indefinite re-election In a Central American country.

,No, it should not be included in this.“, Bukele responded to a question from the press asking whether he would support a reform that enables unlimited re-election.

,I believe constitutional reform is not necessary“, reiterated the ruler, who enjoys popular support of 90% according to surveys Latinobarometro 2023.

The President did not clarify whether he would seek re-election in the future, following a possible second term.

With polling stations already closed, Bukele – who is seeking re-election despite a constitutional prohibition – called for Congress to guarantee a pro-government majority to retain his support. war on gangsHe also said that this election was a kind of “referendum” on his mandate.

Bukele This Sunday he also accused the electoral body and the company in charge of counting the votes. close polling station Without allowing those who were in the queue to vote, which he described as a “crime”.

“The TSE (Supreme Electoral Court) and Company Indra are closing polling stations, without letting in Salvadorans who were already in line. This is a crime in our country and those responsible should be prosecuted.“, the Salvadoran President expressed in his article on

According to BukeleTSE had “by law” Allow all citizens to vote That they were in the queue at the polling stations before the scheduled closing time of 5:00 pm, and this also applies to voting from abroad.

“TSE cannot close these centers until the last person standing in the queue has voted.”, If they stop earlier, they will violate electoral law,” the President stressed.

Bukele voted this Sunday amid tight security, surrounded by members of his party New Ideas (NI), under the watch of hundreds of followers and a good group of national and foreign photographers and journalists.

Dressed in casual clothes and a cap, the President reached the polling booth with his wife. gabriela de bukeleAnd greeted his supporters, who were eagerly waiting to get photographed with him.

The ruler, who had avoided talking to the press waiting for him since the morning, thus reappeared before the public after an absence of almost three months, because the parliament dominated by his party had given him half a year to do so. Was allowed. political conversion,

However, he did not personally carry out any public activities and only used his social networks to address voters.

Before heading to his polling station, Bukele shared photos of Salvadorans voting abroad on his account on the social network X.

Long queues of eligible voters were seen in pictures Spain, United States, Italy, Sweden and France Exercising your right to vote.

“Gabriella and I have already voted. Let’s all vote! Remember that if you arrive before 5:00 pm, you have to let them vote, even if they are still in line,” the presidential candidate said on his social networks.

Bukele, 42 and hugely popular, is the first president of El Salvador’s democratic era to serve a repeated term, despite the fact that the constitution does not allow it.

Salvadorans voted this Sunday in elections that gave the president re-election and more powers, Lauded for putting brutal gangs behind bars through a sustained “war” that suspended civil liberties.

way of Bukele’s re-election It was opened in 2021, when the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, which was appointed by Congress without following legal procedure, changed a criterion for interpreting the Constitution.

Judges charged by the United States “Loyal” to the executive. Bukele said the ban on re-election is for a ruler who has been in power for 10 years.

During the day, the party’s presidential candidates Nationalist Republican Coalition (Arena), Joel Sanchez urged Salvadorans to participate in the elections, after exercising their right to vote at a private educational center.

The candidate, a businessman who lives in the United States, went to Albert Einstein UniversityOn the outskirts of the capital, with some members of his party.

He told the media, “This is a historic day for Salvadorans (…) a day that gives us as a people the opportunity to dream of changing the direction of our country.”

Sanchez reported that he had seen “anomaliesHe asked the public to be cautious in the first hours of voting.

,We do not want a dictatorship to be established“We don’t want the Constitution to be violated, we don’t want an illegal candidate to become president,” he said.

Sanchez said in a recent interview with international agencies that it is worth competing because “my love for my people, my social conscience and my patriotic commitment place me today in the history of this country.”

The candidate admitted that his party was accused Corruption and that it has become an opposition with little influence in national politics, but he assured that this would not discourage him.

For their part, representatives of the left Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation (FMLN), Manuel Flores voted in school’jose dolores larrenaga‘, in the municipality of Quezaltepec, 21 kilometers from the capital.

known as ‘Chinese’ flowerCandidate of the FMLN, a former guerrilla who became a party after the end of the civil war (1980–1992) proposed increasing the universal basic pension 50 to 70 dollars for older adults and people with disabilities, and increasing the number of beneficiaries from 37,000 to 60,000.

He also assured that he would fight hunger, promote agriculture, ensure family welfare and improve the investment climate, among other measures.

(With information from EFE and AFP)