Bukele came to power in 2019. In his first year as president, he entered the country’s parliament accompanied by armed forces. The following year, he replaced the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General with loyalists.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has made constitutional arrangements to remain in power indefinitely. Through a constitutional amendment, he is set to hold onto his position at least until 2033, and possibly beyond. Critics argue that Bukele has long been working toward consolidating his grip on power.
Bukele came to power in 2019. In his first year as president, he entered the country’s parliament accompanied by armed forces. The following year, he replaced the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General with loyalists. He was re-elected based on a re-interpretation of the constitution by his handpicked judges. All these moves signaled his desire to maintain long-term control.
The final nail in the coffin came on Thursday (31 July), when an obscure lawmaker from the ruling New Ideas Party proposed a shocking constitutional amendment to make the presidential term indefinite. The proposal was approved by the parliament with astonishing speed.
In violation of laws that require proposals to be reviewed by committee or debated publicly, Bukele’s loyal lawmakers hastily gave their consent. With the support of 57 lawmakers, only three opposed the measure. Within just three hours of the proposal’s introduction, it became law.
Describing the decision as a victory for democracy, Parliament Speaker Ernesto Castro said that the people—not laws—should decide how long a leader remains in office. “Through this decisive step, we are ensuring a stronger, fairer, and more effective democracy,” he declared.
However, opposing lawmaker Marcela Villatoro said, “Today, democracy died in El Salvador.”
The new amendment increases the presidential term from five to six years, abolishes the runoff election system, and moves the next election two years earlier to 2027. Critics believe this aims to deprive the opposition of time to regroup and build strength.
Though democracy was established in the country in 1992 after 12 years of brutal civil war, public confidence in the system remains low. Gang culture took root shortly after, leading many Salvadorans to view democracy as a failure.
Despite widespread allegations of human rights violations and corruption, Bukele remains popular among many citizens for his aggressive crackdown on once-powerful street gangs.
Meanwhile, the United States—long seen as a global champion of democracy—has remained silent on El Salvador’s constitutional changes. When asked for comment, the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio did not respond.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the presidency for a second term, relations between Washington and El Salvador have strengthened. In March this year, Bukele’s administration demonstrated loyalty to the White House by imprisoning 238 Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador under a bilateral agreement. At the time, Trump praised Bukele, calling him an “extraordinary president.”
UN special envoy Gina Romero accused the White House of protecting Bukele through its silence. “If Bukele’s total control over courts, parliament, media, and public narrative isn’t authoritarianism, I don’t know what is,” she said.
Interestingly, the Salvadoran public appears largely indifferent to Bukele’s power grab. Instead, many are focused on planning trips for the upcoming public holidays.
