Nayib Bukele, 40-year-old President of El Salvador, has declared himself a ‘dictator’ in his Twitter bio that now reads, “Dictador de El Salvador”, which translates to “Dictator of El Salvador”. Earlier, it used to say, “Papá de Layla”, which means “Layla’s Dad”, referring to his only daughter. The recent change in the bio came after the opposition and media called him a dictator.
On September 15, thousands of Salvadorans came out on the roads to protest against the government’s decision to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender. They also protested against the reforms introduced in the judicial system that the critics deemed as a threat to democracy. The protestors were seen holding placards denouncing a ‘dictatorship’, ‘respect the constitution’ and ‘no to Bitcoins’.
Bukele, in a tweet, condemned the protests and called them out for the destruction of property. He said, “They say the ‘vandalism’ was done by ‘infiltrators,’ but there is vandalism at ALL their protests.” He also added a video of a masked woman who was kicking down a glass security wall. He also blamed the “international community” for fueling the protests by providing funds for the same.
Dicen que el “vandalismo” fue hecho por “infiltrados”, pero han hecho vandalismo en TODAS sus manifestaciones 🤷🏻♂️
— Nayib Bukele 🇸🇻 (@nayibbukele) September 15, 2021
Además, ¿por qué no se escuchan gritos de “deténganse” o “no hagan eso”?
Lo que se escucha son APLAUSOS y VÍTORES; y ahí está la prensa. pic.twitter.com/3MetlCntCK
The judges had also joined the protests against the law that deemed judges above the age of 60 or with 30-years of service to be laid off. Reports suggest that it would affect one-third of the judges serving in different courts. The protestors also raised voice against the ruling of the Supreme Court that allowed Bukele to seek a second successive term though the constitution of El Salvador allows only one term. It has been alleged that the ruling was passed by the judges appointed by Bukele.
Bukele has been called dictator before
This is not the first time Nayib Bukele has been called a dictator. In January 2021, he briefly changed his profile picture to an image of Sacha Baron Cohen from the movie the Dictator. The brief change happened after being called a dictator multiple times for ruling that came in favour of extending his term as President from five years to six years.
Bukele had minted every opportunity in the past to turn things in his favour, especially the significant drop in homicides during his term since 2019, when he became the President of the country. During his tenure, he has granted additional powers to police and military to control crime, which was, in fact, one of the promised that he had made during elections and paved the way for his win.
Bukele describes himself as the “coolest President”. However, he has been accused of using state agencies to ‘harass’ journalists and investigate opposition parties. A new constitution is being draft for the country, which is expected to be revealed later in 2021. Bukele has said once that he wanted to ensure that his opponents never return to power.
However, his popularity is on the rise in the country for several reasons, including the drop in crime rate and Covid-19 management.
