Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele speaks at the Atlacatl Medical Unit of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute in San Salvador, El Salvador, Feb. 17, 2021 (AP photo by Salvador Melendez).
Bukele’s Power Grab Is Alarming Everyone but Salvadorans
Frida Ghitis Thursday, May 6, 2021
If we ever need evidence of how corruption and incompetence can roll out the red carpet for authoritarianism, the people of El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele, are offering a real-time case study. Bukele is steadily tightening his grip on all the levers of power, and the vast majority of Salvadorans are cheering him on.
The latest leap toward potential tyranny occurred this weekend, when Bukele brought to heel the last of the three branches of government that remained outside his control. His move to replace the members of the Supreme Court raised cries of alarm from the international community—but the faintest of complaints at home. ...