There is an unusually relaxed atmosphere in San Salvador before the polls open on Sunday. With the gangs reconciled with the “war” started by President Nayib Bukele since 2022 and the specter of violence gone, Salvadorans are enjoying the regained “peace, tranquility and freedom.”
Most of the capital's residents met by AFP say bluntly that they want the re-election of Mr Bukele, who they say has drastically changed their daily lives.
“More than ever we are in democracy because we have a president who thinks about Salvadorans, who governs for Salvadorans,” Alvaro Perez, a 47-year-old carpenter, told AFP.
At dusk he performs improvised dance steps in a public square to the sounds of a music group, something that was completely unthinkable just two years ago. “We call it peace, tranquility, freedom… I thought it was something I would never see with my own eyes,” he says.
More than 75,000 suspected gang members have been arrested under a state of emergency that is still in effect, ending extortion and fear of movement, especially at night.
When these warrantless arrests and the deployment of the army on the streets are accompanied by allegations of widespread human rights violations under the aegis of a president who is now concentrating all powers, the answer is invariably: the decline and drastic increase in the country's crime rate.
According to the NGO Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled), murders attributed to maras, criminal gangs, rose from more than 800 in 2019, the year of Mr. Bukele's election, to more than 400 in 2021 and 57 last year. .
Nayib Bukele, 42, is by far Latin America's most popular leader (90% positive opinions according to Latinbarometro) and is expected to win by a wide margin in the first round of voting on Sunday.
“If this is a dictator, welcome to him”
Alberto Serrano, a 40-year-old Uber driver, says: “Everything has changed.”
A former bus driver, he says he feared for his life as gang members extorted money from everyone and killed people simply for entering neighborhoods controlled by rival groups.
“If they got in your van and said, 'Give me a dollar,' and you refused, at best they would beat you, at worst they would kill you,” he says.
Since the state of emergency came into force, he has been a self-employed driver, “because now we can move anywhere freely and without fear.”
In a report released last month, the International Monetary Fund noted an “unprecedented decline in crime as well as the importance of remittances.” [de la diaspora] and tourism revenues contributed to robust economic activity in 2022, driven by domestic demand.
Last year, the country, once one of the most dangerous in the world, even hosted the Miss Universe pageant, which Bukele said showed El Salvador had “changed forever.”
Nelson Rivas, a 63-year-old homeless man, thanks Bukele “a president who cleaned up the city.” “When I sleep on the street, I feel like I’m in a palace, nothing happens, no one touches you.”
Nayib Bukele's popularity is reflected in the capital through numerous murals depicting his image. Street vendors sell T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats, statuettes, key chains, watches, piggy banks and aprons with the image of the bearded president.
“Even foreign tourists tell us: 'Lend us Bukele,'” laughs Gloria de Echeverria, 53, a saleswoman at one of these stalls.
“If this is a dictator, welcome to him,” said Oscar Martinez, 54, a Salvadoran who works in the United States, as he bought a T-shirt with a photo of Bukele and the words “El Salvador reborn.” “If this were a dictatorship, everyone would want one.”