Folly of strongman populism

February 19, 2024

MANILA – Latin America now has a “millennial dictator.” Earlier this month, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele secured a second term as president, thus cementing his position as the region’s latest caudillo. “Why are there so many eyes on a small (Latin) American country?” he confidently asked legions of supporters while standing on the balcony of the National Palace. “They’re afraid of the power of example.”

By “example,” he meant his scorched-earth strategy against criminal groups, who have bedeviled the impoverished Central American nation in recent years. In response, Bukele assumed emergency powers and suspended basic constitutional rights across the board. The upshot was mass arrests of suspected criminals coupled with public humiliation. An entrepreneur and public relations expert by profession, Bukele is a master of performative populism.

On the surface, it was a spectacularly effective policy, since, all of a sudden, El Salvador is now perceived as “the safest nation” in the whole region. But at what cost?

Authoritative investigations show that thousands of innocent folks fell victim to Bukele’s mass incarceration strategy. In the absence of due process, law enforcers relied on a cynical quota-based system to meet their targets, even if it meant arbitrarily punishing countless innocent youths.

In the absence of institutional reforms, a relatively corrupt police force was handed a blank check to terrorize any suspected criminal in the name of public order. Sounds familiar? Worryingly, even after squashing gangsters, Bukele has shown little interest in relinquishing his special powers.

He purged and bullied the country’s highest court to secure reelection in clear defiance of the constitution. Then