The Biden administration has long been cold and bullying toward El Salvador, but the tone in Washington suddenly became more conciliatory after President Nayib Boucle won reelection in a landslide on Sunday.
Reuters I got it. On Tuesday, Mr. Biden’s team said he was now “familiar” with Mr. Boucle, praised the health of El Salvador’s democracy and even publicly congratulated Mr. Boucle on 85% of his command. He said that election victory.
Meanwhile, Bukele reversed the confrontational stance he took when he felt the Biden administration was trying to impose itself. At a low point in their relationship two years ago, Mr. Bukele made public private conversations with a top U.S. diplomat in El Salvador, and was enraged by the revelation that she had left the country for a visit to El Salvador.
But neither the Biden State Department nor Bukele have completely abandoned each other’s views.Secretary of State Antony Blinken Congratulations Bukele’s re-election remarks included a small jab about the good work of “election observers” in keeping elections clean, and the continued commitment of the United States to “good governance, economic prosperity, fair trial guarantees, and human rights.” It included an even less veiled promise to remain focused on. El Salvador. “
Although Bukele is beloved in El Salvador and admired throughout the hemisphere, viewed with deep suspicion Because he transformed his country from one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America to one of the safest by imprisoning a significant portion of the population.
Bukele’s success could pose a tough philosophical challenge for Biden’s Democratic Party, which is convinced that putting criminals behind bars is not the right way to reduce crime. Meanwhile, Reuters noted that the success of Bukele’s law and order platform has led to a clear decline in immigration to the United States, which has become a major political issue for Biden.
Salvadorans fleeing violence and poverty have been immigrating to the United States for decades, reaching record levels in 2021. Following a crackdown on gangs that began in March 2022, the number of Salvadorans arriving at the U.S. southern border has declined, dropping by 36% from 2022 to 2023. U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Bukele has also taken steps to curb immigration to the United States, including imposing high taxes on flights from 57 countries, mostly in Africa.
And while El Salvador clearly wants to maintain good economic relations with the United States and continue receiving large foreign aid checks, Mr. Boucle could turn to Beijing if Washington freezes him. It is made clear that El Salvador has developed its own brand of Vietnam.bamboo diplomacy”, keeping the United States and China in balance and letting each other know that the other is a suitor waiting in the wings.
The Chinese congratulations on Mr. Bukele’s re-election were far more enthusiastic than Mr. Blinken’s enthusiastic salute. China has invested about $500 million in infrastructure projects, and last year helped build a large library in San Salvador. The opening ceremony included a fleet of drones that created an image of Bukele’s head in the sky.
“El Salvador wants to trade with all countries. What we do not intend to become is to become your subordinates,” Bukele said in his victory speech on Sunday. He wasn’t actually talking to China.
Bukele too boasted He won by the largest margin in the history of a democracy, effectively turning El Salvador into a “one-party” state – a declaration that will be far more warmly received in Beijing than in Washington.
The Chinese may argue that Mr. Bukele’s ironclad governing style is much closer to their vision of a disciplined and efficient authoritarianism than the bloated, untidy “democracy” of the United States.America did it In response, Bukele insisted that he was indeed running for election. Despite some complaints about the accuracy of the vote tally that Bukele cited in his victory speech, El Salvador’s Electoral Court said: ordered Tuesday’s recount – It seems clear that a majority of El Salvadoran voters like the job he’s done and want him to do more.
The Biden administration has urged Bukele to declare victory and end the war on gangs with a little less enthusiasm and perhaps a little more due process, rounding up tattooed young men. It seems like he wants it.
Ironically, some of Bukele’s harshest critics are Warning If he softens his heart, the dormant drug gang may return with a vengeance, a number of hardened soldiers who learned how to become even worse thugs while languishing in Bukele’s mega-prison. It is said that it is increasing due to people. El Salvador may offer some interesting lessons in the tensions between authority and democracy in the coming years.
