Why Bukele Is Popular
I watched my umpteenth video on "Nayib Bukele: Dictator or Savior?" And once more I was surprised that no one explains the original reason for his popularity. Before he embraced Bitcoin, before he launched his campaign to jail the gangs, he was already the most popular politician in Latin America. But none of the journalists or sommentators ever explain the reason why. The reason is simple: Nayib Bukele is honest and competent. And El Salvador had been long without a president that was either.
Nayib Bukele was elected in 2019 without a majority supporting him in the Assembly of El Salvador. When the elections for the Assembly were held in 2021 his New Ideas party won two thirds of the seats. His party won because Bukele was honest and competent, which was rare before he took office.
El Salvador had a string of presidents who left office with a suitcase full of cash. The conservative party, ARENA, especially seems held together by nothing more than ties of corruption. And when they weren't corrupt, they were incompetent. Public works projects like roads or dams went on for years without being finished.
President Bukele, in contrast, is the son of a wealthy family and doesn't seem to want to enrich himself further at the public's expense. And he sees projects through to completion, rather than just start them with a big ceremony. This is not to say that President Bukele is perfect and there is no reason to criticize him. But given the low bar of politics in El Salvador and South America generally, where things we take for granted like honesty and competence are often absent, President Bukele is an inspiration to the people.