It is very likely that you have heard of Nayib Bukele more than once President of El Salvador, either for his celebrated method of fighting crime or for his controversial statements that have managed to roil the political echelon on more than one occasion. However, there are some lesser-known aspects of the popular presidentsuch as where its origins come from and how it managed to achieve the overwhelming popularity it enjoys today.
What is known about it? Bukele It revolves around his role as president of El Salvador, which, for better or worse, brought him a stunning re-election in the Central American country's recent elections. According to the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE)In the presidential election on February 4, just a month into 2024, the president received more than 85% of the vote.
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Nayib Bukele, a Salvadoran of Asian descent
There are very few who know this information about the personal life of the Salvadoran president. Son of Armando Bukele KattanNayib was born on July 24, 1981 in El Salvador, a country where he had a prosperous childhood thanks to his ancestry. The president comes from a family of Palestinian immigrants who came to El Salvador at the beginning of the 20th century and managed to build a diverse business consortium of companies from different sectors.
Nayib Bukele pointed out more than once the influence his father had on him. Photo: El Pais.
The struggle of their Palestinian ancestors, who had to deal with prejudices and bureaucratic obstacles, allowed Nayib's generation in the Bukele family to achieve certain privileges, such as a family education Pan American Schoolan elite bilingual school “reserved for an upper socioeconomic segment,” as he described it Oscar PicardoBukele's primary school teacher, for whom International media BBC.
Although Nayib has now become the representative face of El Salvador, he has not hesitated to invoke it Palestine. This genuine love for his heritage would not be an act of populism since, according to Picardo, Nayib did not hesitate to point out his heritage whenever he could. “Every student wrote something in his yearbook that defined him, and he came up with (…) a sentence that more or less said: 'The blood of the student is like that of the martyr', a bit like: jihadist.”
Nayib Bukele's father is considered an important figure in El Salvador. Photo: Diario El Salvador.
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Christian origin who converted to Islam
Although Nayib Bukele's ancestors were Christianshis father Armando made the decision to bring about change and convert to Islam, which made him an important figure of this religion in El Salvador. Bukele Kattan He founded four mosques, including the first in the Central American country, and hosted the television show “Clarify concepts”.
Although Nayib often speaks about his father's influence on him, he affirms this is not a religious practitioner, although he believes in Jesus Christ and often resorts to the Bible in a country with many Catholic and Protestant believers. “I've said it before. I have accepted Christ into my heart. I believe that a person’s relationship with God should be personal because I believe religion distances us from God.”