elfaro.net
With Bukele Consolidated, Salvadorans Enter Uncharted Terrain
In past times that I’ve been in El Salvador to witness presidential elections, there has been a palpable sense of dynamism, of possibility and excitement, of fear and anxiety. This round, where democratic alternance has been emptied of all meaning, Salvadoran society feels like it’s standing still, people awaiting what’s to come. Back in 2019, there was a sense that Bukele’s victory would transform politics and usher in a brave new world away from that ossified two-party system that dominated in the governments of the postwar. Despite this symbolic breakthrough, one that helped cradle our new principito, few could predict that this would entail the dismantling of El Salvador’s fledgling democracy. Last Sunday, the 2024 elections were a mere formality, a last gasp for some historic parties, a boring celebration for what was already expected.
