President of bitcoin brother of El Salvador is loved and dangerous

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September 11, 2021

San Salvador

SUNDAY September 5, a few hundred demonstrators gathered under the Monument to the Constitution in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, holding handmade signs. Most were in their mid-twenties. In turn at the microphone, they condemned Nayib Bukele, the 40-year-old president. Almost all covered their faces, less out of fear of catching covid-19 and more of being identified by police who took pictures of the event.

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They were on the streets to denounce a Supreme Court ruling two days earlier that presidents can run for a second consecutive term. This allows Mr Bukele to run in 2024 and appears to go against the constitution. Daniel, a 28-year-old graphic designer, attended the protest with his mother, holding a sign reading Bukele Fascista. He had voted for Mr Bukele, but now feels that the constitution is being trampled.

The decision is Mr Bukele’s latest takeover. In February, Idées Nouvelles, his party, won a qualified majority in the legislative elections. He has since taken over justice. Five judges of the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court were dismissed in May and replaced by sympathizers; they were the ones who decided he could run again. On August 31, the Legislative Assembly passed a series of bills, including one that excludes all judges over the age of 60 or with 30 years of service. Mr. Bukele can now replace them up to a third of the judiciary.

But across town from the protest, in Plaza Morazn in downtown San Salvador, few were bothered by Mr. Bukeles’ anti-democratic tendencies or the intricacies of the justice system. When Mr Bukele was mayor of the capital, from 2015 to 2018, he cleaned up the square and the city center, once controlled by gangs. Dorian Martnez, a waiter at a cafe there, believes the president has been successful in most things and is different from previous politicians. He praises his ability to build a hospital during the pandemic. I would vote for him a second time, he said. Imagine what he could accomplish.

More of Mr Martnez’s compatriots seem to agree with him than with the protesters, who surrendered in slightly larger numbers on September 7. The president’s approval rating has hovered around 90% since taking office in 2019, by far the highest of any leader in Latin America, and possibly the world.

Many Salvadorans say that Mr. Bukele has improved their lives. They point to new roads, food distributions and safer neighborhoods. Some credit him for lowering murder rates, which began to drop long before he took office (see graph). While many suspect Mr Bukeles’ government of negotiating with gang members (as previous governments have also done), he denies it. On August 23, El Faro, a digital newspaper, revealed that officials had secretly met with jailed gang members over the past year, allegedly to reduce crime in exchange for better conditions of detention.

Mr Bukeles’ popularity isn’t the only thing that allowed him to cover up his surprisingly rapid takeover of the state. Salvadorans lack confidence in democracy, in large part due to the corruption and poor governance of the two parties that have alternated in power since the end of the civil war in 1992. Mr. Bukele has promised to shake up this duopoly with New Ideas, which was registered as a party only in 2018.

It also helps that the president is a masterful self-publicist. The Supreme Court ruling came just days before El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar. The move is not very popular in a survey, more than two-thirds did not want to be paid in crypto. But it made headlines around the world (although the rollout was a shambles). Mr Bukele tweeted frantically about the cryptocurrency, which the country has bought hundreds of tokens (spending around $ 30 million). However, he remained silent on the Supreme Court’s decision.

Meanwhile, Mr Bukeles’ control over the justice system means it would be impossible to take legal action, says Ruth Lpez, a lawyer at Cristosal, a human rights organization in El Salvador, even though the decisions and the layoffs are illegal. The electoral authority said it would respect the courts’ decision to allow the president to run for a second consecutive term, although one of its officials expressed surprise at the decision.

Uncle Sam’s Dilemma

The United States seems paralyzed in the way it treats the president of a country of just 6.5 million people. The administration of President Joe Bidens has condemned Mr. Bukele; the American ambassador to El Salvador compared him to Hugo Chvez, the late Venezuelan dictator. Officials in Washington may be able to exert some economic pressure, perhaps by demanding conditions on a $ 1 billion IMF loan that is outstanding. The State Department stopped supporting the attorney general’s office after the incumbent was ousted in May.

Yet the United States is battling a Central American migration crisis on its southern border. More than 2 million Salvadorans now live in the United States, against 700,000 in 2000. Mr. Bidens’ team prefers not to risk destabilizing the country, causing more people to flee. On August 27, it donated equipment, including eight helicopters, to the Salvadoran armed forces, loyal to Mr. Bukele.

Some can be reassured by a poll which showed Mr Bukeles’ approval rating to be 87%. While still ridiculously high, it is the lowest since he took office. But with the levers of power now under his control, and $ 30 worth of bitcoin free to any Salvadorian who signs up for the crypto service (the equivalent of about three days at minimum wage), the millennial caudillo can afford not to. please everyone.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the title “Crypto creep”

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