World This is Nayib Bukele, the youngest (and hipster) president of Latin America
USA Biden, President of the USA on the 60th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration, 40th anniversary of Reagan and 20th anniversary of George W. Bush
Media Nayib Bukele expels the editor of the independent newspaper 'El Faro' from the country
As in that joke about Andorra, if tomorrow Nayib Bukele declared war on Joe Biden, the main problem for the former would be where to put so many American prisoners in such a tiny country, the smallest in all continental America. Because El Salvador has become with him a 'david' who challenges the 'goliath' 'gringo' continuously, especially with regard to his more postmodern progressive policies. Bukele could also argue that a contest does not suit him precisely on his
40th birthday, which he celebrates this Saturday.
The fact is that Bukele is a young leader who has soon managed to gain a space in the complex political landscape of Latin America. Since his appointment as Salvadoran president, on June 1, 2019, he has come to the fore for various demonstrations or actions that have set off alarms and that place him in political heterodoxy. Thus, from the outset, he has used
not only as a public communication tool, as most world leaders have been doing, but also as a channel
for calling his ministers to order, giving them orders
or expressing personal ideas.
Also remembered is his announcement of the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender in his country, a measure taken last June that was completed with plans to
give residence to anyone who invests three bitcoins in El Salvador.
In this way, it aims to give an economic turnaround to the accounts of a dollarized country since the turn of the century.
To this must be added other more forceful and controversial actions, such as those that have to do with crime and the judiciary.
El Salvador was ravaged by a bloody civil war during the 1980s
. This caused the collapse of the country's economy, as well as significant immigration to other territories, particularly the United States. There, especially in cities like Los Angeles, young Salvadorans grouped themselves into
criminal gangs or 'maras'
that began to be deported after the end of the civil conflict in 1992. The return of these gang members meant the importation of their forms of violence, which increased in the remains of a country torn apart by war.
In the prisons saturated by members of the 'maras', they imposed the law and, in many cases, directed the destinies of the citizens. Bukele proclaimed that he would be extremely strict against these movements. Thus, it has mobilized the Army on several occasions and, above all, has announced
the end of the policy of segregation of the different 'maras' by prisons
, applied in the middle of the first decade of the century after several confrontations between factions that ended with numerous dead. The practical effect is that the gangs managed to take control of each prison and, from there, exercise their power.
Groups such as the Salvatrucha gang or the 18 gang have continued to act with violence while the prisons remained overcrowded. Bukele made the decision to mix members of different 'maras' by cells, a measure that has been enforced by 'manu militari'. However, several investigations have denounced that, in reality, the president
has agreed to a cessation of violence by the gangs, as well as political support, in exchange for prison benefits.
On the other hand, it initiated a
reform of the members of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice and of the State Attorney General's Office
. The removal, endorsed by the Salvadoran parliament, provoked criticism from the US government of
Joe Biden
, who then initiated a diplomatic conflict materialized in the publication of a list by the US State Department with several
senior officials from El Salvador accused of corruption
. Among them are the minister of justice until last April, Rogelio Rivas, as well as the chief of staff of Bukele (Carolina Cerecinos) and of several former opposition deputies.
The conflict escalated as a result of various diplomatic clashes with representatives of both countries to try to ease the tension. On one occasion, Bukele was reproached for not requesting a meeting with Biden. The first settled the matter through his social networks: "Anyone who believes that a President is going to travel to another country to sit down and ask for meetings,
has to check well if he has his own brain. More than 100 years ago they invented the telephone
(without taking into account other technologies), not to call and coordinate an appointment beforehand, "he said before an emoji with tears of laughter. And he added ironically:" Hello, I came to Washington, I only came for a few hours and I wanted to see if the President or someone I don't know could receive me immediately. But it would have to be quick, so tell him to stop everything he's doing and receive me now, "with another emoticon, in this case a kiss.
For all this, as well as for his Muslim origins (Bukele's father
is of Palestinian origin and founded several mosques
in the Central American country), the young leader is hailed by his 'fans' as an 'anti-woke' 'rais' to the that must be protected so that he does not suffer the same fate as other politicians in the area, as has been seen recently in Haiti.
The pro-Biden machinery already qualifies him as
"the Salvadoran Trump"
, despite the fact that Bukele was active until recently in the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, a left-wing formation heir to one of the contending sides in the civil war.
Even so, there are more recent scandals, such as the expulsion from the country of the editor of the independent newspaper 'El Faro', after this medium published information regarding his alleged pacts with the 'maras'.
Bukele
is married to Gabriela Rodríguez, a former dancer and psychologist of Sephardic origin
, as claimed by her husband, who gave birth to their only daughter, Layla, in August 2019, shortly after the elections.
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