Bukele’s Indefinite Reelection and State of Exception: Erosion of Democracy Towards Perpetual Dictatorship in El Salvador

Original article: Reelección indefinida y régimen de excepción: Bukele desmantela la democracia y apunta a la dictadura perpetua en El Salvador

El Salvador is witnessing an authoritarian shift that undermines democratic foundations, following a constitutional reform approved by the Assembly, entirely dominated by the ruling party, which removes limits on presidential reelection, allowing Nayib Bukele to potentially remain in power indefinitely.

This modification, enacted in 2025, not only extends the presidential term but also alters the country’s electoral rules, solidifying what critics of the far-right leader describe as the absolute concentration of power in his hands.

Specifically, five articles of the Constitution were amended to enable unlimited presidential reelection, extend the presidential term, eliminate the second electoral round, and shorten the current presidential term.

The Salvadoran opposition has denounced Bukele’s government as “rewriting the Constitution” to suit its agenda, while human rights organizations warn that this reform enshrines a model where institutions are subordinated to the Executive.

In response to the criticism, Bukele stated that “90% of developed countries allow for indefinite reelection of their heads of government, and no one bats an eye.” He noted that when a small and poor country like El Salvador attempts the same, “suddenly it becomes the end of democracy.”

Concerns in El Salvador regarding Bukele’s desire to stay in power intensified after he formalized his candidacy in the primaries of the ruling party Nuevas Ideas for the upcoming presidential elections in February 2027, clearing the way for a potential third consecutive term until 2033.

The announcement was made by the party leader, Xavi Zablah Bukele, the president’s cousin, who posted the candidacy document on social media, indicating that Vice President Félix Ulloa is also running for another term.

The Pact with Gangs and the Roots of Authoritarianism

Journalist Óscar Martínez, editor of the newspaper El Faro and an exile for his investigations into Bukele’s government, has meticulously documented how the leader consolidated his power. According to his research, the far-right leader negotiated with gangs for eight years, first as the mayor of San Salvador and then on his path to the Presidency.

“Bukele struck deals with those gangs for eight years, but the gangs, when they felt something was unmet, would kill,” he explained to La Estrella de Panama.

The definitive break occurred in March 2022, when the Mara Salvatrucha gang massacred 87 Salvadorans, prompting Bukele to declare a state of exception, dismantling the gangs but at a tremendous cost to civil liberties.

State of Exception as a Control Tool

Through this regime, the Penal Code has been modified to grant extraordinary powers to security forces and eliminate fundamental rights for citizens. Currently, one in 50 people in El Salvador is incarcerated, representing an unprecedented number in the region. In an interview with La Estrella de Panamá, the journalist reported that trials are mass and secret, allowing over 900 people to be judged in a single room without access to case files or knowledge of charges. He noted that when El Faro managed to access 690 initial prosecution requests, it found that in many cases the sole reason for imprisonment was having “shown nervousness.”

Bukele’s Propaganda Machinery

According to Martínez, Bukele has deployed an extraordinary communication machinery that mixes million-dollar investment of public funds with expert management of social media. His family, historically tied to political advertising, understood from the outset the new forms of communication that traditional politicians failed to master. He detailed that the government has created propaganda outlets like Diario El Salvador, doubled salaries for journalists at television channels to turn them into propagandists, and indirectly funds a “network of defamers and insulters to whom he assigns advertising.” This massive propaganda apparatus has led international political figures to latch onto the “Bukele brand” as an easy way to win votes, without truly grasping the authoritarian nature of the model.

International Complicity and the Authoritarian Future

Martínez warned that the Bukele model is nothing but the total accumulation of power and the dismantling of checks and balances, stating that those who admire him are aware of the reality of his government and remarked: “If you are not willing to be captured when a soldier feels like it, then you do not know who Bukele is.”

Indefinite reelection and the state of exception have turned El Salvador into an authoritarian laboratory that could shape the future of Latin America. While some right-wing political leaders seek to emulate his electoral “success,” El Salvador is heading towards what many now label a perpetual dictatorship in the name of security. In this context, the journalist questioned: “You might want to live in a dictatorship, but when the dictatorship bites, don’t complain.”.