Countering El Salvador's Democratic Backsliding

[Judi Lynn]

BY TAMARA TARACIUK BRONER AND NOAH BULLOCK | MARCH 21, 2023

Countries across the region must raise the alarm about the long-term impact of curbing citizens' rights.



Civilians are searched by soldiers in El Salvador. The state of emergency has been in effect for 12 months.
Camilo Freedman/APHOTOGRAFIA/Getty Images
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For decades, Salvadorans have faced egregious gang violence and successive governments unable or unwilling to ensure safety in people’s everyday lives. No wonder many support President Nayib Bukele when, during his administration, the rates of homicide and extortion have apparently decreased significantly. But neither Bukele, nor his followers at home, nor his growing fan club in the region are willing to seriously debate the price of his policies, whether they are sustainable, and the consequences of dismantling the country’s democratic institutions.

March 27 is the one-year anniversary of El Salvador’s state of emergency, initially put in place for 30 days to address a spike in gang violence. Since then, police and soldiers have arrested more than 65,000 people, including hundreds of children.

Extortion, which entrenched gangs’ territorial control, has reportedly decreased. Homicides, which have been decreasing since 2015, have fallen further, with official figures indicating a rate of 7.8 homicides per 100,000 people in 2022. Although changes in the ways killings are counted make it harder to estimate the true extent of the reduction, few people doubt that the rate of killings in El Salvador, once among the highest in the world, has diminished.

But the way that President Bukele carries out his security policies features widespread violations of people’s rights. Many Salvadorans with no connections to gangs have been arrested, especially in low-income neighborhoods. Our research shows that some people detained have been tortured, dozens have died in custody, and thousands have been subjected to abusive legal proceedings without due process. People arrested have been placed in incommunicado detention. The authorities cause the families of people swept up this way great suffering by denying them information about a detainee’s whereabouts, which constitutes an enforced disappearance.

More:
https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/countering-el-salvadors-democratic-backsliding/