After democratic elections, El Salvador has ‘spirit of hope’ under President Bukele
As the El Salvadoran Ambassador to Washington, D.C., for President Nayib Bukele, I have an advantage not enjoyed by my predecessors. I represent a government that has the enthusiastic support of an overwhelming majority of its citizens and countrymen, both in El Salvador and residing in the United States.
Indeed, in a new project at the embassy and its consulates, we are working with Salvadorans in the U.S. who are interested in investing in their country of origin and I have led multiple visits to El Salvador by U.S.-based Salvadoran businesspersons and investors interested in participating in
El Salvador’s renewal.
As I travel across the country meeting with Salvadorans in the U.S, I listen to their optimism over the direction of El Salvador — optimism based on the positive feedback heard from family and friends back “home.” A recent poll shows that 95% of expats support the president and would vote for him if given the opportunity. The reasons for the renewed spirit of hope are several, but they all have one common denominator: They are the product of a new type of leadership in the country led by President Bukele.
Past systemic failures President Bukele correctly diagnosed the failure of El Salvador to build a prosperous, peaceful country for its citizens as a systemic disease. Corruption and mismanagement had so permeated the country’s institutions that continuing along the same path as always was equivalent to consigning El Salvadorans to poverty and insecurity into perpetuity. Indeed, my disavowal of the ARENA party, with which I had been affiliated, and President Bukele’s departure from the FMLN, reflect the nonpartisan commitment to rooting out corruption.
The corruption within both traditional parties made it impossible to advance a positive agenda. I joined President Bukele because of his innovative ideas, his commitment to rooting out corruption and his focus on solving problems over engaging in partisan feuds over irrelevant ideologies.
The fresh approach to governance is showing signs of success and building a platform of hope for the future. As the Biden administration seeks to address the “root causes of migration,” President Bukele has begun a project of national renewal that is showing results.
Security has been a top concern of many who have fled El Salvador seeking opportunity here in the U.S. The awful “maras,” or street gangs, that dictated life on the streets of El Salvador are weakening their grip. Violent crime has been reduced dramatically and crimes such as extortion that prevented small businesses from flourishing have diminished. Addressing gangs
This is the consequence of the government’s Territorial Control Plan and other policies that balance vigilance and law enforcement with a commitment to building alternative paths for at-risk populations. Just this month, President Bukele joined the European Union in inaugurating the “CUBE” project that creates a type of community center for youth in neighborhoods and locales where gangs recruit.
The president is focused on the technological gap that must be closed to bring El Salvadoran workers into the modern, information-based economy. Every child in school is given a computer for free by the government and the internet access necessary for distance learning and sharing ideas with a global community.
These accomplishments and quality of life improvements for the Salvadoran people could not have taken place under the previous political order. The old parties and their allied institutions had constructed a closed system that protected their self-interests and muted the voice of the majority. Through bold actions and decisive leadership, El Salvador is making progress on the “root causes” that have held us back for decades.
As the U.S. deliberates immigration policy and the Biden administration pursues its goal of addressing the root causes of illegal or irregular immigration, it is important that the American people and their representatives in Washington understand the dynamic underway in El Salvador.
New pride and purpose An old and corrupt political system has been upended at the ballot box in democratic elections and the winning side is working tirelessly to restore hope to a population that had been ignored by the old regime. Some previously powerful actors have been displaced, allowing new and innovative ideas to percolate. Ideas that are transforming El Salvador from a place from which citizens flee, to one where people feel a sense of purpose and pride.
While those displaced elites pursue allies in Washington in their efforts to undermine the change under way and restore their privileged status, I urge policy makers and policy shapers to take a closer examination of the transformation underway in my country.
El Salvadorans will not go backwards, but instead, we will seek to break the pattern of broken democracies in Central America. It is with great pride and purpose that I serve as the ambassador from El Salvador during this momentous period in the country’s development.