“Without him, there was chaos in the country”

Nayib Bukele His victory was so clear that the day before the election, loudspeakers and large screens were already set up in front of the National Palace to celebrate his second term in office in front of thousands of followers. No one had any doubts about his landslide victorywhich was preceded by an explanation sui generis of the Constitution, which prohibits his re-election in several articles.

The day on which more than 5.5 million Salvadorans were called to vote was celebrated normally, except for some problems in setting up vote receiving boards, which caused delays of up to two hours in the opening of some schools .

From 7:00 am, people head en masse to polling stations, for which free buses were deployed, some of which even had loud music to liven up the day.

In two cardboard boxes they cast their votes for the presidency and elected 60 representatives to the National Assembly. Heavily armed soldiers and police guard the entrance to polling stations, Bukele’s party, New Ideas, had set up tents with volunteers who were informing voters about their respective tables. On some occasions, supporters of this party even took a disabled voter to the same table where they were going to cast their vote.

Despite it being a holiday, street markets were open and hats and T-shirts were being sold with Bukele’s image turned backwards and with the words “God, Union, Freedom” as well as 2024–2029. Was also written. Which will be his second five-year presidential term. Maite Domínguez was one of the first to support the Nuevas Ideas candidate: “I want this change to continue to reintegrate the country because when he was not there there was chaos.” Domínguez assured that what he likes most about Bukele is that he has guaranteed security and therefore, he stressed that “this has to continue because there are still gang members.”

He said, “Before, you couldn’t be on the street at 4:00 in the evening because the gangs would charge me five dollars as fare (extortion) to sell and an additional two dollars to enter and leave my neighborhood. were,” he said, while stressing that he does not want to return to the past, but You must follow the emergency arrangements Approved by the Legislative Assembly on March 27, 2022 and extended monthly.

Miguel Ángel Martínez expressed himself in similar words after voting in the Teatro Presidente, located in San Benito, one of the most affluent areas of San Salvador, surrounded by skyscrapers and magnificent buildings. “I would like continuity, because the current president has done a very good job because he has provided security, although we need a little economic stability and also in terms of health.”

Things have changed so much in the Central American country that he admits that, although he considered emigrating at the time, “that thought has already faded and I am better off in my own country.” After describing as “outstanding” the extraordinary regime that erodes the rights of the population and has resulted in the arrest of more than 77,000 people accused of being associated with or collaborating with gangs, he recalls that ” “There’s still a bit of a security gap and we need to clear up what’s left.”

For his part, Álvaro Sánchez Barreda indicated that he also voted for Bukele because, before the implementation of the Territorial Control Plan and the Exception System, “if you went from one colony to another where the gangs had the same faction, They could’ve done it I won’t be able to find you anymore ’cause they killed you, buried you they disappearedMeanwhile, he highlighted that, currently, the government has “deployed soldiers and police and no one feels safe, whereas before you could not walk at night or visit your family. Barreda claims that he is not afraid of the regime’s exceptions because “if one is not involved in bad deeds, there is nothing to fear, whereas they have caught a lot of criminals and marreros,

“Bukele is a dictator”

In contrast, Patricia Elena has warned that Bukele is an “autocrat” who has established a “dictatorship”. guard, noting that “he wants to remain president for the rest of his life”. In this sense, he believes that his decision to take the army and police to the streets is because he is “afraid” of losing power and “not being re-elected forever”, therefore, his In the opinion, this is a “false security because if the population does not have rights, what security does it have?” On the other hand, he believes that, in the Legislative Assembly, which on Bukele’s proposal was reduced from 84 to 60 Given, “it cannot be of the same party, as Nuevas Ideas wanted, which already has three powers and that is not democracy.”

Patricia admits that it gives her “courage” that the president “remains in power”, noting that people in his government are “afraid to express themselves and say that they want a different candidate.” Are going to vote for.” Thus, she revealed that a friend of hers, who publicly advocates for another candidate who is not from Nuevas Ideas, has received “calls from the ruling party,” which is why she fears for her life. .

On the other hand, she confesses that she fears that her two daughters could be detained under the emergency regime, although “they are not on the wrong track”, as has happened with “many innocent people”, although She warns that, if that happens, “there’s a third world war with mom.” Finally, he wonders, if El Salvador is such a safe country, “why are there so many police and soldiers on the streets?” She herself replies: “Bukele is a dictator and we have no rights here as human beings.”