Introduction
Walking through El Mercado Ex-Cuartel in San Salvador, El Salvador the aisles are lined with vendors selling President Nayib Bukele merchandise. T-Shirts, mugs, shot glasses, and other items line the walls and hangers of nearly all the vendors’ shops. The day my mother and I visited the Ex-Cuartel we took longer than expected. It started to rain and for the first time in my life, and the first time for my mother since the war, we were out in the streets in the dark laughing and running in the rain without a care in the world. For many Salvadorans in the U.S., Nayib Bukele has been the salvation for which the country has long been searching. For many others, he is an authoritarian leader whose policies are human rights violations. One thing is for certain; Bukele’s impact has had far reaching effects.
In the political context of the U.S., where tough on crime policies and conservatism are often sounded most loudly by white voices, Bukele’s sounds come from the so-called Third World. By some measures, he has made El Salvador, the nation once known as the murder capital of the world, the “safest country in the Western Hemisphere.”[1]At the same time, he has faced severe criticisms for human rights abuses in the country, including charges that he has imprisoned tens of thousands of people with little due process. But none of those criticisms have forced him to waiver on his policies.[2]
Bukele’s popularity is not isolated to just Salvadorans. Conservative leaders and groups in many Latin American countries have championed his policies and leadership as models for their own countries even as questions emerge about the effectiveness of those policies.[3] He is considered by some measures to be the most popular leader in Latin America and one of the most popular leaders in the world.[4] Bukele has established close relationships with politicians on the U.S. right, including organizations such as The American Conservative Union. He was even invited to Donald Trump’s second inauguration.[5] Through social media his impact and influence on a portion of the U.S. Latino population is evident and is a contributor to the growing Latino right.
The Philosopher King and the Imagery of a Great Ruler
In Book V of Plato’s Republic Socrates states, “Until philosophers rule as kings or those who are now called kings and leaders genuinely and adequately philosophize … cities will have no rest from evils, nor will the human race.”[6] Bukele proudly boasts the title of a philosopher king. It is the only phrase in his X bio.[7] Plato believed that a philosopher was the best person to rule because of their constant pursuit of truth. Bukele has positioned himself as someone who seeks truth and justice. In this way, Bukele can assert his policies are ruled by reason, common sense, and a commitment to the public good rather than as an assertion of authoritarian power that violates rights and freedoms.
He used to be a member of the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional or Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, abbreviated as FMLN, which is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group.[8] Bukele was expelled from the FMLN after various disagreements with other members.[9] He formed a new party, Nuevas Ideas, which translates to “new ideas.” Bukele no longer considers himself to be left-wing or right-wing and his party positions itself as a third path in politics. While Bukele celebrates his third path, he also acknowledges that there is support for him and his policies from the right leaning sectors of his country and regularly criticizes the left for lacking a clear direction.[10]
This third-party approach has been particularly attractive to those in the U.S. context in which politics are currently extremely polarized.[11] Bukele packaging himself as someone who is not left or right appeals to many, throughout the Americas , including in the U.S. By projecting himself as a leader not beholden to traditional political positions or labels, Bukele conveys the image that he is a wise leader who follows facts and reason rather than dogma. For Bukele and his supporters, emotions and politics have become deeply intertwined.
David and Goliath: Calling Out Imperial Giants and The Failure of Liberalism
Bukele won his most recent re-election with nearly 85% of the popular vote.[12] In many corners of the country, he has the love of the people. Many Salvadorans in the U.S. also enthusiastically supported his reelection.[13] Projecting an image of a wise and popular leader, Bukele arouses the vision of a modern Latin American dream. He has an ethos and a goal for Latin America that evokes Simón Bolívar, the “liberator of Latin America.”[14] Bolívar was not a fan of classical liberalism, with its emphasis on broad participation in government and strong focus on individual freedoms; Bukele echoes some of those themes in his own critiques of liberalism.[15]
Bukele’s tough on crime policy has significantly lowered rates of crime and violence in El Salvador but has been met with opposition, some of which comes from protestors within the country as well as the U.S. and Europe.[16] In March of 2022, Bukele declared a state of exception which has been renewed thirty-three times. This state of exception has suspended due process in El Salvador, a collection of rights encased in the country’s constitution that includes the right to a fair trial. This has resulted in the large-scale imprisonment of anyone Bukele’s police force deems a “threat” whether that be through gang affiliation or political opposition. As of December 2024, there have been approximately 83,600 people arrested.[17] Large numbers of people in the country and in the diaspora have welcomed these policies. For years, gang violence made El Salvador a place where fear was rampant and basic safety was a luxury. Bukele harnessed the fear and the anger people felt towards the gangs and used the broad power granted to him and the police under the “state of exception” to bring the country under control.
Many wonder how people can accept the loss of basic freedoms under a state of exception. The support for Bukele’s approach is reflected in his consistently high approval rating, which has not fallen below 80% in his entire time as president. Those approval ratings may be because of the dramatic drop in crime under his presidency—El Salvador now has the lowest homicide rate in the Western hemisphere.[18] From the perspective of most Salvadorans, the immediate need in the country was safety. Gangs have dominated for decades, terrorizing innocent civilians. The cost of freedom does not always become tangible right away, but the return of safety is something the people of El Salvador felt quickly because of the state of exception. Many also do not worry because they assume they will never set foot in a Salvadoran prison.
When met with criticism, Bukele has not been afraid to call out empires on the world stage. After a BBC reporter asked him a question about wrongful arrests in El Salvador, he responded, “I find this somewhat amusing, when they say ‘oh but you know what in El Salvador they arrest people and some of the arrested are innocent,’ and I am a little baffled because I wonder if in the U.K. all of the arrests are of guilty people.”[19] He then went on in the same interview to argue that every justice system in the world is imperfect.
Bukele also pointed out that multiple Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organizations estimated that the number of people in the country who were gang-affiliated or gang-related was well above the number of people that had been arrested. He then said: “Do you expect that because we are Salvadoran or something or because we are second class citizens or something we have to die? They have to kill our families they have to kill our children…because your liberal ideas of what a democracy should be have to be respected… we have to let the bloodshed go on for fifty years because of imported policies from your countries…we took the recipes from the U.N… the European Union… the United States…Stop trying to make us use your recipes because they do not work here.”[20]
Bukele makes such assertions without fear or apology and clips of this nature often go viral on platforms such as TikTok andYouTube. The important component is the fact that he attacks not only these nations but the concept of liberalism itself. He takes complex problems and explains them by focusing almost singularly on left or liberal ideology. In this way, he gives the people an idea to blame. Such explanations, coupled with the return of peace and the perceived promise of future prosperity, has buoyed the faith of many.
This rhetoric and narrative harken back to Bolívar. Bukele, like Bolívar, insists that liberalism and liberal views do not work in Latin America. Scholars from across the political spectrum have argued for many years about the question of whether the liberal model works in Latin America.[21] Many ambitious political leaders who have strived to transform Latin American societies with liberal ideas and values and have also critiqued liberalism as ineffective.
Bolívar was one of these leaders. Bolívar expressed concern that liberal ideas were “imported” and inadequate for Latin American societies.[22] Throughout the 1900s, the belief that liberalism had failed in Latin America grew because of authoritarian “liberal” governments, the rise of oligarchies, and the inability of liberal establishments to answer the demands of the largely impoverished majorities.[23] Many in Latin America and the United States today believe that both the left and liberalism have failed them. Bukele tapped into this and packaged his “new ideas” as a distinct formula built for his people and not prescribed by others.
Fear and Alignment with the U.S. Right
Bukele has spent considerable effort lobbying U.S. Republican politicians, several of whom, attended his second inauguration.[24] He has also made several appearances on U.S. conservative media. In an interview with Tucker Carlson in November of 2022, he argued “The demise of the U.S. has to come from within. The enemies have to be inside. No external enemy can cause so much damage as an internal operation.”
Bukele went on to criticize what he categorizes as many left-leaning policies that he insisted were the source of the problems. “You cannot plant beans and expect corn to show up… if you plant a defunding of the police, allow for shoplifting, give drugs to drug addicts, give money for people to stop work, what will be the consequence of it? It will destroy the city; it will destroy the economy… it is already happening.” [25]
In February of 2024, Bukele gave a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). “The people of El Salvador have woken up, and so can you,” he said. “The global elites, they hate our success and they fear yours.”[26] He discussed the crisis in U.S. cities and the issue with fentanyl in the country. He asked people to look to the future and to imagine what the country would be like in fifteen years.[27] Bukele then told the people at the conference that the next U.S. president will have the will and courage to do “whatever it takes” to overcome the “dark forces” that were trying to control the US. [28] The implied dark forces are the left and liberalism.
Many Latinos are working class and facing economic struggles but a large population are also immigrants or descendants of immigrants that came to this country fleeing violence. The fear that the violence they once knew may cross the border is powerful. U.S. politicians frequently mentioned the threat of gangs throughout the years, but today almost all of the attention on immigration in the media focuses on gangs, terrorists and criminals. Bukele has also called the state of exception and its success in reducing crime a “miracle.” He has referred to the gangs of El Salvador as “satanic.”[29] This language resonates with a sector of U.S. Latinos who are religiously conservative.
Trump recently invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua to the Salvadoran prison Cecot, Latin America’s largest prison.[30] Trump’s action acts as an endorsement of Bukele’s policies. Bukele is demonstrating that he is willing to “help” other countries keep the “dark forces” at bay.
In April, on his latest visit to the United States, when asked about the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and whether he would release him, Bukele responded: “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?”[31] With such a large focus on people labeled as terrorists and gang members, many Latinos feel they will not be affected by the coming immigration policies. “He is only deporting criminals,” a cousin said to me the other day. For his supporters, criminals are tangible, due process is not something we can see until it disappears.
Endnotes
[1] Beyer Velez, Salome. “El Salvador Named One of the World’s Safest Countries in 2023: At What Cost?” Latin America Reports, October 10, 2024. https://www.latinamericareports.com/el-salvador-named-one-of-the-worlds-safest-countries-in-2023-at-what-cost/9850/
[2] “Human Rights Crisis in El Salvador ‘Deepening’: Amnesty.” Al Jazeera, March 27, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/27/human-rights-crisis-in-el-salvador-deepening-amnesty
[3] Meléndez-Sánchez, Manuel, and Alberto Vergara. “The Bukele Model: Will It Spread?” Journal of Democracy 35, no. 3 (2024): 84-98. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/jod.2024.a930429.
[4] María Isabel Sánchez, Mariëtte Le Roux & Laurent Abadie, AFP. “How El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele Became Latin America’s Most Popular Leader.” Buenos Aires Times, 31 Jan 2024. https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin-america/how-el-salvadors-bukele-became-latin-americas-most-popular-leader.phtml
[5] Biller, David, and Débora Rey. “More World Leaders from Argentina and El Salvador Invited to Trump’s Inauguration.” Associated Press, December 17, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/trump-inauguration-milei-argentina-salvador-4e8a358bbce4a703f7820b6321fe66d5
[6] Plato. “Book V.” In The Republic, 149–176. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. New York: Books, Inc., 1943.
[7] Bukele, Nayib (@nayibbukele). X profile. Accessed July 2, 2025. https://x.com/nayibbukele.
[8] See “Farabundo Martí Natio Liberation Front” Wikipedia, accessed 1 July 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farabundo_Mart%C3%AD_National_Liberation_Front
[9] Renteria, Nelson, and Noe Torres. “El Salvador’s Incoming President, Shunned by Ruling Party, Forged Own Path.” Reuters, February 5, 2019. Accessed July 2, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/el-salvadors-incoming-president-shunned-by-ruling-party-forged-own-path-idUSKCN1PU0B4/
[10] Bergengruen, Vera. “Read the Full Transcript of President Nayib Bukele’s Interview With TIME.” TIME, August 29, 2024. https://time.com/7015636/president-nayib-bukele-interview/
[11] Kleinfeld, Rachel. “Polarization, Democracy, and Political Violence in the United States: What the Research Says.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, September 5, 2023. https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2023/09/polarization-democracy-and-political-violence-in-the-united-states-what-the-research-says?lang=en&ref=blog.codinghorror.com
[12] Alemán, Marcos, and Megan Janetsky. “El Salvador’s Bukele Wins Supermajority in Congress after Painstaking Vote Count.” AP News, February 19, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-election-8637667ca3b9f35c9ffd2baf805a9ade
[13] , Bukele’s Election Unconstitutional? YouTube video, 10:15. Posted by NBC4 Washington, July 2, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lln9l47FD6s
[14] Miranda Aburto, Wilfredo. “Bukele’s Expansionist Dreams for Central America.” El País, July 29, 2021. https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-07-29/bukeles-expansionist-dreams-for-central-america.html
[15] Gracia, Jorge J. E., and Manuel Vargas. “Liberalism in Latin America.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last modified July 2, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism-latin-america/
[16] The methods he has used to achieve a drop in crime have been questioned by the U.S. Treasury, for example. See Sherman, Chrisopher. ”U.S. Treasury: El Salvador Government Negotiated with Gangs.” Associated Press. 8 December 2021. https://apnews.com/article/nayib-bukele-el-salvador-gangs-c378285a36d55c18f741c3f65892f801
[17] Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador. “El Salvador continuará siendo el país más seguro de Latinoamérica.” Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador. Accessed July 2, 2025. https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/13408
[18] Luciano, Lilia. “Inside El Salvador’s Notorious CECOT Mega-Prison.” CBS News, February 14, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-el-salvador-notorious-cecot-mega-prison/
[19] Bukele, Nayib. “Mi respuesta completa a la BBC | English subtitles.” YouTube video, 6:38. Posted by Nayib Bukele, July 2, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgnnBqRZgNE
[20] Ibid
[21] Gracia, Jorge J. E., and Manuel Vargas. “Liberalism in Latin America.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last modified July 2, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism-latin-america/
[22] Bolívar, S., 1815, The Jamaica Letter: Response from a South American to a Gentleman from this Island, in F.H. Fornoff, & D. Bushnell (eds.), El Libertador: Writings of Simón Bolívar, New York: Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 12–30. [Bolívar 1815 available online]
[23] Gracia, Jorge J. E., and Manuel Vargas. “Liberalism in Latin America.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last modified July 2, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/liberalism-latin-america/#Bib
[24] Alvarado, Jimmy. “Bukele Lobbyist Received $325,000 in Three Months to Court MAGA Politicians.” El Faro, July 10, 2024. https://elfaro.net/en/202407/el_salvador/27489/Bukele-Lobbyist-Received-$325000-in-Three-Months-to-Court-MAGA-Politicians.htm
[25] Fox News. “Nayib Bukele: America’s demise has to be ‘by design’.” Tucker Carlson Tonight, video clip, 3:43, November 1, 2022. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6314760476112
[26] “El Salvador’s Bukele under scrutiny over extended emergency measures.” BBC News. Accessed July 3, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68377406
[27] Ibid
[28] Ibid
[29] AFP. “Bukele Calls El Salvador’s Gang Crackdown a Miracle.” Tico Times, June 6, 2024. https://ticotimes.net/2024/06/06/bukele-calls-el-salvadors-gang-crackdown-a-miracle
[30] Cohen, Marshall, Alexandra Skores, and Devan Cole. “How Controversial Deportation Flights and a Judge’s Race to Stop Them Unfolded, Minute by Minute.” CNN, March 17, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/americas/el-salvador-prison-trump-deportations-gangs-intl-latam/index.html
[31] “How Can I Smuggle Him?” — BUKELE Hits Back At U.S. YouTube video, 4:12. Posted by Oneindia News, May 2, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9WxfZQEZ0.
Featured Photo Credit: “Nayib Bukele at the groundbreaking of the Airport of the Pacific” by Casa Presidential El Salvador, 25 February 2025. CC0 1.0