Asier Vera San Salvador

San Salvador

Updated Sunday, February 4, 2024-21:04

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Nayib Bukele

was so clear about his victory that one day before the elections, loudspeakers and large screens were already placed in front of the National Palace to celebrate his second term in front of thousands of followers.

No one had any doubts about his overwhelming victory , which was preceded by a

sui generis

interpretation

of the Constitution, which prohibits his re-election in several articles.

The day in which more than 5.5 million Salvadorans were called to the polls was held normally, except for some problems in establishing the Vote Receiving Boards, which delayed the opening of some schools by up to two hours.

From 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the population went en masse to the polling stations, for which free buses were set up, some of which had loud music to liven up the day.

In two cardboard boxes they cast their vote for the Presidency and elect the 60 deputies of the National Assembly. Heavily armed soldiers and police guarded the voting centers at the entrance to which Bukele's party,

Nuevas Ideas

, had set up tents with volunteers who were informing voters of which table they were assigned to. On some occasions, even supporters of this party accompanied a voter with a disability to the same table where they were going to cast their vote.

Despite it being a festive day, the street markets were open and selling caps and T-shirts with the image of Bukele with a cap backwards and which read "God, Union, Freedom", as well as 2024-2029, in reference to the which will be his second five-year presidential term. Maite Domínguez was one of the earliest risers to support the Nuevas Ideas candidate: "I want this change to continue to recompose the country because when he was not there it was chaos." Domínguez assured that what she liked most about Bukele is that he has guaranteed security and, therefore, she stressed that he "has to continue because there are still gang members."

"Before, you couldn't be on the street at 4:00 p.m., since the gangs charged me five dollars in rent (extortion) for selling and another two dollars for entering and leaving my neighborhood," he said, while who insisted that he does not want to return to the past, but rather

has to follow the emergency regime

approved by the Legislative Assembly on March 27, 2022 and which is extended monthly.

Miguel Ángel Martínez expresses himself in similar terms after voting at the Teatro Presidente, located in San Benito, one of the most affluent areas of San Salvador, surrounded by skyscrapers and sumptuous buildings. "I would like continuity, because the work of the current president is very well done, since 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 has recognized that, although at the time he considered emigrating, "that thought has already been erased and I am better off in my country." After describing as "excellent" the exceptional regime that eliminates the rights of the population and that has resulted in the arrest of more than 77,000 people accused of belonging to or collaborating with gangs, he recalls that "there is still a little lack of security and we must clean up what's left a little."

For his part, Álvaro Sánchez Barreda indicates that he has also voted for Bukele, because before he implemented the Territorial Control Plan and the Exception Regime, "if you went from one colony to another in which the same clique of the gang, they couldn't find you anymore because they killed you, buried you and

disappeared

." Meanwhile, he highlights that, currently, the Government "has deployed soldiers and police and one feels safer, whereas before one could not walk at night or visit family." Barreda claims not to be afraid of the emergency regime because "if you don't get involved in doing bad things, there is nothing to fear, while they have caught a lot of criminals and

gang members

."

"BUKELE IS A DICTATOR"

On the contrary, Patricia Elena warns that Bukele is a "despot" who has established a "dictatorship" in

El Salvador

, given that "he wants to stay for the rest of his life" as president. In this sense, he believes that his decision to take the military and police to the streets is because he is "afraid" of losing power and "not being re-elected in perpetuity", so, in his opinion, it is a "false security because if the population does not have rights, what security does it have?" On the other hand, he considers that, in the Legislative Assembly, which has been reduced from 84 to 60 deputies at Bukele's proposal, "it cannot be of a single party, as Nuevas Ideas has wanted, which already has the three powers and that does not It's democracy."

Patricia admits that it gives her "courage" that the president "continues in power", taking into account that with his Government people are "afraid to express themselves and say that they are going to vote for a different candidate." Thus, she reveals that a friend of hers, who publicly advocates for another candidate who is not from Nuevas Ideas, "has received phone calls from the ruling party," which is why she fears for her life.

On the other hand, she confesses that she is afraid that her two daughters could be detained under the emergency regime, although "they are not on the wrong path", as has happened to "many innocent people", although she warns that, If that happened, "there's the third world war with the mother." Finally, he wonders that, if El Salvador is such a safe country, "why so many police and soldiers in the streets?" She answers herself: "Bukele is a dictator and here we have no rights as human beings."