Nayib Bukele’s latest power grab

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele opened the door last week to remaining in power indefinitely, and all the messages he has sent so far suggest that he intends to do so. On Thursday, the Legislative Assembly, controlled by his party, approved a constitutional reform that allows for indefinite presidential re-election, which has been prohibited since 1983. The amendment was approved in less than six hours, just a day before the Salvadoran population went on holiday for the San Salvador festivities.

The package of reforms to articles 75, 80, 133, 152, and 154 of the Constitution was presented by the ruling party, Nuevas Ideas, and passed with 57 votes in favor and only three against, which were cast by the only opposition lawmakers in Congress. These changes not only lift the ban on indefinite presidential re-election. They also extend the presidential term from five to six years and move the general elections up to 2027, two years before the current presidential term ends. Both measures violate the Constitution as it is currently written.

Lawmakers and officials loyal to Bukele have defended the reform, claiming it is a mechanism to save public money. Their argument is that, since elections are held every three years for mayors and legislators and every five for the presidency, the country is constantly organizing elections. The recent constitutional changes, however, appear to be the final steps in a long path Bukele has taken toward a bigger goal: staying in power.

One move, 14 years in power

With the reform approved this Thursday, Bukele is aiming to remain in power for at least 14 years. The 44-year-old president has already completed six years at the helm of the government. By the time the 2027 elections take place, he will have served eight years as head of the executive. The ruling bloc claims that by moving the elections forward, the president is actually reducing his time in office.

However, the opposition in El Salvador is currently nonexistent, and recent polls give the president an approval rating of over 80%, thanks to his relentless war against the gangs. With those numbers and so little time for opposition parties to regroup and offer a real political alternative, the president is virtually guaranteed another term — this time for six years — which would bring his total time in power to 14 years.

He is so confident of victory that, between 2023 and 2024, the executive branch acquired three properties worth $1.4 million, where construction will begin on a new presidential residence just three blocks from the private home where he currently lives with his family. This move, however, is the culmination of a broader strategy Bukele has pursued since he came to power in 2019. After being elected president, he dismantled the traditional political party system and, last February, stripped them of public funding, leaving them unable to campaign — while his own image is continuously boosted by government propaganda.

Power concentrated in one person

Since taking office, Bukele has focused his efforts on controlling the entire state apparatus. He first took control of the Legislative Assembly, removed the justices of the Supreme Court, as well as the Attorney General who was investigating him for corruption and alleged negotiations with gangs, and carried out a massive purge of judges across the country. He then changed electoral rules and reduced the number of parliamentary seats in order to regain a majority in Congress — which has now granted him absolute power.

Bukele has also directed the entire state apparatus toward glorifying his image, portraying himself as omniscient and omnipresent. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, when the government deployed thousands of teams across the country to distribute food packages to unemployed citizens, the aid was delivered with the message: “President Bukele sent this to you.”

On another occasion, during a press conference in 2022, the president claimed that there wasn’t a single dirty bathroom in any public institution that he wasn’t aware of. In short, everything good that happens in El Salvador — whether it’s paving a road or planting a tree in a park — is thanks to Bukele. If something goes wrong, it’s the opposition’s fault.

Too many powerful enemies

Bukele is now, in a way, a slave to power. Since taking office, he has bulldozed through the various institutions in El Salvador. He began with political parties, then moved on to replacing the business elite, co-opting labor unions and professional organizations, and finally, dismantling the country’s most powerful criminal mafia: the Mara Salvatrucha-13 and Barrio 18 gangs.

With so many enemies, Bukele now has, according to most analysts, a pressing need to remain on the throne. During his first six years in power, journalists and civil society organizations have documented hundreds of alleged corruption cases involving his inner circle — including his family, which has multiplied its land holdings twelvefold since he took office.

In addition, the president has implemented measures that, according to several human rights organizations, could constitute crimes against humanity — such as enforced disappearances and the imprisonment of hundreds of Venezuelans deported by the United States in his maximum-security prison, the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). These individuals were later returned to their home country as part of a three-way exchange.

Pact with the military

Since taking office, Bukele has forged an unbreakable alliance with El Salvador’s Armed Forces. He doubled their budget, increasing it from $145 million to $314 million — the highest amount since the end of the civil war and the 1992 peace accords.

He has also blocked access to military archives and abandoned ongoing cases involving crimes against humanity committed during the civil war, such as the El Mozote massacre, perpetrated in December 1981, in which more than 1,000 people — mostly women and children — were killed.

Expulsion of critical voices

In the past two months, the Bukele administration has launched a wave of authoritarian crackdowns against human rights organizations and independent journalists. Between June and July alone, at least 40 journalists and 20 activists have fled El Salvador out of fear of reprisals. Cristosal, the organization that has filed the most complaints during this government, left the country last month. Ruth López, head of the anti-corruption and justice unit at the NGO, was imprisoned along with three other activists.

Amid the exodus of critical voices fleeing the country, Bukele has delivered yet another blow to ensure his grip on power. The most recent message he sent to human rights organizations and journalists came during his speech marking his sixth year in office, at the beginning of June. “I don’t care if they call me a dictator,” he said.

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