Angelus News | August 27, 2021 | Vol. 6 No. 17

Confronting
a culture of
confrontation
El Salvador's President Nayib
Bukele speaks at a news conference
in San Salvador on Feb. 28. | JOSE
CABEZAS/REUTERS VIA CNS
El Salvador’s lone cardinal is in a unique position to sound the
alarm over its president’s increasingly authoritarian moves.
BY INÉS SAN MARTÍN
ROME — Common sense would
indicate that when a citizen of
a struggling country compares
theirs to another, they would point to
one that is in better economic shape,
or enjoys more social and political
stability.
But in Latin America, more often
than not, those comparisons are more
fatalistic: people tend to name other
countries not as an example to aspire
to, but as a warning.
In Argentina, for example, a common
lament these days is that if things don’t
change, the country will end up like
Venezuela: Instead of the current 50%
of the population living under the
poverty line, they might end up having
90%, as is the case in the nation ruled
by Nicolás Maduro.
Similarly, many in El Salvador today
warn about the possibility of resembling
Nicaragua.
Daniel Ortega first rose to power
promising a revolution, yet almost 40
years later, many accuse him of resembling
the dictator he helped bring
down. Ahead of the Nov. 7 national
elections, he’s made sure he’s the only
contender, having imprisoned more
than 30 opposition leaders in the past
45 days.
Years of popularity have allowed him
to eliminate many of the legislative
checks on his power, and his iron grip
on the country’s security forces allowed
him to quash a popular civil uprising
that began in April 2018.
Similarly, Nayib Bukele, the young
and charismatic leader of El Salvador,
is facing criticism for his efforts to
weaken the country’s judicial system,
the prosecutors’ offices, and Congress.
He has done so through a series of
executive actions, most of which he
has communicated directly through
Twitter, claiming he doesn’t trust the
country’s media outlets.
As a footnote, he defined himself
as the “most handsome and coolest
president in the world” in a tweet back
in 2019.
Though on the opposite side of the
political spectrum from the democratic
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chávez of San Salvador,
El Salvador, who was a personal friend of St. Oscar
Romero (right), poses for a photo in 2018. | JOSE
CABEZAS/REUTERS VIA CNS
socialist Ortega — Bukele is a rightwing
admirer of Donald Trump who
describes himself as pro-family and
anti-abortion — he’s been relentless in
his persecution of the opposition.
Thus far, this man who arrived to
power thanks to the support of the
22 • ANGELUS • August 27, 2021