July 29, 2023—Reporting for the Los Angeles Times, Kate Linthicum describes El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has become a “hero on the right” for Latin American leaders even as human rights groups cry foul.
It’s been four years since Bukele took office and two years since he declared himself as the world’s “coolest dictator.” Today, many in Latin America view the president as a model for fighting gangs, violent crime, and corruption, even if it comes at the cost of civil liberties.
Critics complain that the El Salvadorian leader embraces authoritarianism, but “as homicides plunged, Bukele’s approval ratings skyrocketed,” Linthicum writes in a LAT report this week.
Even as he clears the way for mass criminal trials of hundreds of people at a time, his popularity rises in countries like Peru, Argentina, Honduras, Ecuador, and Columbia. It reflects a sentiment expressed by Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, that violent crime is outpacing government corruption as an area of concern in the region.
Bukele’s government has built larger prisons, where it holds 70,000 alleged gang members under a state of emergency. As The Guardian noted this week, “Bukele’s harsh approach to criminality has won the millennial leader the strongest approval ratings in Latin America and a cult following with politicians across the region who emulate his casual looks and hardline security policies to win over voters.”
The shift towards security-first is even taking on a trendy name: Bukelismo.
