{"id":172259,"date":"2025-08-12T01:20:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/sin-categoria\/daniel-zovatto-u-s-support-for-bukeles-indefinite-reelection-is-concerning\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T09:46:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:46:14","slug":"daniel-zovatto-u-s-support-for-bukeles-indefinite-reelection-is-concerning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/world\/daniel-zovatto-u-s-support-for-bukeles-indefinite-reelection-is-concerning\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Zovatto: \u201cU.S. Support for Bukele\u2019s Indefinite Reelection Is Concerning\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On July 30, El Salvador\u2019s Congress\u2014controlled by President Nayib Bukele\u2019s Nuevas Ideas party\u2014approved <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/el-salvador-approves-indefinite-presidential-re-election-backed-by-bukele-controlled-legislature\/\">indefinite presidential reelection<\/a> through an express constitutional reform.<\/p>\n\n<p>It&#8217;s an old tactic used by the dictatorships of Venezuela and Nicaragua to justify keeping their strongmen in power, but in El Salvador\u2019s case, Donald Trump\u2019s administration in the United States considers it a democratic mechanism \u2014 despite the fact that it violates the Inter-American Democratic Charter and contradicts a ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.<\/p>\n\n<p>In an interview on <em>Esta Semana<\/em>, broadcast on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ConfidencialNica\">CONFIDENCIAL\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>, we spoke with political analyst Daniel Zovatto, director of Radar Latam 360, about the implications in Latin America of Bukele\u2019s indefinite presidential reelection with Donald Trump\u2019s political backing.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s serious because of the mirror effect it has in Latin America: <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/opinion\/bukele-y-el-laboratorio-salvadoreno-del-autoritarismo-del-siglo-xxi\/\">El Salvador under Bukele is a laboratory<\/a> for building the new 21st-century authoritarianism, which I call efficracy \u2014 built on popularity driven by results,\u201d said Zovatto.<\/p>\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a populist authoritarian system, highly sophisticated in terms of communication,\u201d Zovatto explained, in which these leaders \u201cgradually colonize all other branches of government from within the state to secure absolute control. From there, they reform the Constitution to allow themselves to remain in power indefinitely,\u201d he summarized.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly, controlled by President Nayib Bukele\u2019s party, approved a constitutional reform establishing indefinite reelection. What does this indefinite presidential reelection mean for El Salvador and for Latin America? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>It\u2019s terrible news for El Salvador, for Salvadoran democracy, and it\u2019s also very bad news, because of the mirror effect, for Latin America \u2014 especially due to the shameful complicity of the Trump Administration, which, far from condemning a reform that enables indefinite presidential reelection.<\/p>\n\n<p>The reform shortens the presidential term that was supposed to end in 2029 to 2027. This could be interpreted as a democratic gesture \u2014 but no, it moves it to 2027 to align the presidential election with congressional and local elections, using the president to create a coattail effect. It also replaces the runoff with a single-round vote, which makes it easier to win by a narrow margin in the first round, and it extends the presidential term from five to six years. The Trump Administration congratulates Bukele and El Salvador for this reform, which it considers to be a reform carried out within democracy.  <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Taking into account President Bukele\u2019s enormous popularity in El Salvador and in other Latin American countries, why is indefinite reelection undemocratic? Bukele said that most developed countries \u2014 which are parliamentary regimes \u2014 allow indefinite reelection. And he says: They\u2019re questioning me because it\u2019s an attempt to limit El Salvador\u2019s self-determination.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>How many times have we heard this argument? Remember Evo Morales, who even claimed that prohibiting his indefinite reelection was a violation of his human rights.<br\/><br\/>. <\/p>\n\n<p>From a political standpoint, popularity is not synonymous with legitimacy. Bukele is a president who lacks legitimacy of origin \u2014 he was unconstitutionally reelected in 2024 \u2014 and only has legitimacy in the exercise of power. He has concentrated all branches of power, even if they are formally maintained, but he controls them entirely. He is more like a sheikh than a democratic president. He has violated a core principle of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Article 3: the separation of powers. On this point, Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, should have taken note.     <\/p>\n\n<p>There is an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights \u2014 28\/21, issued four years ago \u2014 on indefinite reelection. It was requested by the Colombian government at the time, and the Court made three key findings. First, indefinite reelection is not a human right recognized in the American Convention on Human Rights. Second, limiting reelection to only one additional term \u2014 which is generally the standard \u2014 does not violate the guarantees of the Convention. Third, indefinite reelection is dangerous because it strengthens hyper-presidentialism, further concentrates power in the Executive, weakens the separation of powers, reduces the possibility of alternation in power, and undermines pluralism.       <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Daniel Zovatto: Bukele ha hecho de El Salvador un \u201claboratorio\u201d del nuevo autoritarismo\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZdJcvsZlSsM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p>Another false argument from Bukele is that 90% of developed democracies have reelection. That\u2019s true, but 90% of developed democracies do not have presidential systems; they have parliamentary systems. Reelection in a parliamentary system is not the same as in a hyper-presidentialist regime. In parliamentary systems, a vote of no confidence can change the government, constitutional courts are fully independent, and the military maintains complete autonomy from the Executive. In Bukele\u2019s system, there is no independent judiciary, the military has been co-opted and is one of his main allies, and the separation of powers has been blatantly broken. <\/p>\n\n<p>The last argument came from his cousin Xavier Zablah, president of the ruling party Nuevas Ideas, who invoked the syndrome of the indispensable leader: \u201cBukele is the only leader who can take El Salvador down the path it\u2019s on.\u201d A kind of savior of El Salvador, an indispensable man. We\u2019ve heard all these arguments before in Latin America\u2014they\u2019re false and always end the same way: consolidating an increasingly authoritarian regime that sooner or later falls into crisis, like Fujimori, Ch\u00e1vez, and a long list of other leaders.  <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Another justification the Trump administration gave to support Bukele\u2019s indefinite reelection was that it originated from a democratic decision by the Salvadoran Congress. Secondly, they said it\u2019s different from the dictatorships in other parts of Latin America where reelection is defined and limited. We see that in Nicaragua with the Ortega-Murillo dynasty, and in Venezuela. It was imposed in Bolivia at one point but was later reversed. What\u2019s the difference today between Bukele\u2019s dictatorship and those in Nicaragua and Venezuela?    <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>From a political regime perspective, the essential characteristics are quite similar. Obviously, in El Salvador you still don\u2019t have the same level of political persecution or number of political prisoners that you see in what I consider the worst case, Nicaragua, where the <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/ghren-identifies-54-senior-officials-responsible-for-repression-in-nicaragua\/\">Ortega-Murillo marital dictatorship<\/a> has not only imprisoned political opponents but carried out brutal repression resulting in over 350 deaths in April 2018, expelled more than 400 prominent figures\u2014including yourself\u2014and stripped many of their nationality. When you compare the situation in El Salvador to Nicaragua, it clearly isn\u2019t at that level yet. But that doesn\u2019t mean Bukele hasn\u2019t already begun his repression. He\u2019s not just going after criminals; he\u2019s targeting human rights activists. Ruth L\u00f3pez, one of the main human rights defenders and a highly qualified lawyer exposing corruption within the regime, is imprisoned completely arbitrarily. Cristosal, a highly respected NGO, had to close its offices in El Salvador due to persecution. Many journalists had to leave the country between May and June 2025 to avoid imprisonment. El Faro has been the target of harassment, persecution, and surveillance. <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/english\/dozens-of-organizations-reject-foreign-agents-law-in-el-salvador\/\">Civil society\u2019s space is closing down under the so-called \u201cforeign agents\u201d law<\/a>, which requires NGOs to get permission and pay a 30% tax if they want to operate\u2014very similar to a law Russia passed in 2012, which has also been adopted recently by countries like Nicaragua and Venezuela.    <\/p>\n\n<p>The regime clearly has all the characteristics of an authoritarian government. The United States says it was approved by Congress. Yes, Congress did approve it, but the U.S. overlooks that in January 2025, that same Congress made a very important decision\u2014abusing its majority of 60 deputies (down from 84 before reforms in 2024, which were precisely designed to increase control over Congress). With this fully controlled Congress, in January 2025 they changed the process for amending the Constitution. Originally, Bukele\u2019s plan was to adopt a new Constitution. But then someone apparently told him, \u201cWhy go through all that trouble? If you just change the way constitutional reforms are made&#8230;\u201d Until January, one legislature would pass a reform, and the next legislature would have to ratify it. Now it\u2019s a fast-track reform\u2014like what happened\u2014where in just minutes, using the absolute majority\u2019s steamroller, a single legislature can amend the Constitution. All these changes were made in just 15 minutes. That\u2019s the real problem.       <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>With the Trump Administration\u2019s endorsement of Bukele\u2019s indefinite re-election, what can we expect from the Organization of American States (OAS), which has traditionally been the forum for Latin America and the continent to debate these issues? You just mentioned that this clearly violates the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Could the OAS today actually apply the Democratic Charter to Bukele for this blatant violation and for contradicting what the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled? With the current leadership, the Trump presidency, and the political balance in Latin America, can the OAS respond to the establishment of this new dictatorship?   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>The serious problem is that it\u2019s not only the <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/mundo\/albert-ramdin-elegido-como-nuevo-secretario-general-de-la-oea\/\">OAS under the new secretary, Albert Ramdin<\/a>, with Trump in the White House and Marco Rubio at the State Department, but also the previous OAS leadership. I actually had conflicts with the previous Secretary General, Luis Almagro, because he accused me of seeing authoritarianism everywhere\u2014I\u2019ve been warning for a long time that Bukele was heading down an authoritarian path. The Inter-American Democratic Charter should have been applied to him. The Inter-American Democratic Charter should have been applied to him. In 2021, when Bukele\u2019s party won the majority in Congress, on the very first day and within hours, with that majority, Bukele removed the Attorney General and replaced all the members of the Constitutional Chamber\u2014the very chamber that later reinterpreted its own prior rulings and allowed him to seek an unconstitutional re-election in 2024.   <\/p>\n\n<p>This all happened right in front of us, in front of the previous Biden administration, and the former OAS Secretary General\u2014and now it has culminated in this deadly blow, this absolute turning point.<\/p>\n\n<p>Christopher Landau, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, at the recent OAS meeting in Antigua and Barbuda with new Secretary Ramdin, told him: \u201cYou are not doing anything in favor of democracy.\u201d He mentioned the situation in Venezuela and the tragedy in Haiti, but at that moment he did not mention El Salvador. <\/p>\n\n<p>Mr. Landau, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Trump \u2014 what is democracy? Because for the entire hemisphere, there are a series of requirements. Those requirements are not met in El Salvador; therefore, what you\u2019re doing is really applauding your own jailer in Central America.  <\/p>\n\n<p>In transactional foreign policy, of international bullying, blackmail, and constant negotiation, Trump is trading democracy for detention at the CECOT (Center for the Confinement of Terrorism). \u2014\u201cI send you the undesirables, and the good friend Bukele has offered himself to his friend Trump \u2014 I\u2019ll take everyone you send me and act as your jailer.\u201d That\u2019s how Bukele became the only Latin American president invited in these 200 days since Trump\u2019s return to the White House, the only leader officially received and met with Trump at the White House, with both showering each other with praise.  <\/p>\n\n<p>This sends a message of utmost concern. To me, it\u2019s the most serious situation because the other dictatorships are completely delegitimized and discredited. They only hold on through bayonets and repression. But in El Salvador\u2019s case, it\u2019s dangerous because Bukele has significant popular support \u2014 though that popularity is not the same as democratic legitimacy. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>In these contradictions between Trump\u2019s presidency and the OAS itself, if the OAS lacks the ability to deliberate and enforce the Democratic Charter on El Salvador, it would simply be confirming the total irrelevance of this democratic institution. You mentioned the contagion effect from El Salvador. For example, here in Costa Rica, there are elections in February 2026, and the outgoing president, Rodrigo Chaves, is calling to dismantle democratic institutions. What difference would such actions have in Costa Rica compared to El Salvador?   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>A very negative and dangerous element in this Salvadoran laboratory for building 21st-century authoritarianism is what I\u2019ve called \u201ceficracy.\u201d It\u2019s a populist authoritarian system, very modern and sophisticated in communication and social media, that takes advantage of the complete discredit of previous political parties and the public\u2019s justified disdain for the party system. From that emerges these leaders who deliver results on the issues that matter most to the population\u2014in El Salvador\u2019s case, public insecurity. <\/p>\n\n<p>Based on that, they build popularity and support, and then turn that popularity into electoral backing, gradually colonizing all the other branches of government from within to gain absolute control. From there, they reform the Constitution to allow themselves to stay in power indefinitely. Bukele is 44 years old\u2014meaning if things go well for him, he could be in power for the next 40 years. Bukele built his authoritarian regime between 2019 and 2025, in just six years, whereas it took others many more years because he found a way to deliver results\u2014and now he\u2019s found a new advantage in solid support from Donald Trump. That\u2019s why the situation is extremely dangerous.    <\/p>\n\n<p>In the case of Costa Rica, we\u2019ll have to see how it ends. The current president (Rodrigo Chaves) now faces an investigation by a Legislative Assembly Commission, which must decide whether to strip him of his immunity. If they do, he\u2019ll have to face trial. He has said he won\u2019t leave Costa Rica, that he will face whatever comes, and that he won\u2019t stay silent. It\u2019s important to remember that <a href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/mundo\/centroamerica\/bukele-se-fue-el-martes-pero-en-terminos-politicos-sigue-en-costa-rica\/\">Chaves didn\u2019t just receive Bukele in 2024<\/a>\u2014he also awarded him a decoration. So, what until recently was one of the highest-quality democracies in the region, alongside Uruguay, ends up honoring an authoritarian like Bukele, as if to say, \u201cThis is the example, this is the direction we should go.\u201d That\u2019s the serious part of what we\u2019re seeing\u2014not just that another authoritarian regime applauds Bukele, but that a democracy like Costa Rica\u2019s pays tribute to and decorates an authoritarian leader like him.      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 30, El Salvador\u2019s Congress\u2014controlled by President Nayib Bukele\u2019s Nuevas Ideas party\u2014approved indefinite presidential reelection through an express constitutional reform. It&#8217;s an old tactic used by the dictatorships of Venezuela and Nicaragua to justify keeping their strongmen in power, but in El Salvador\u2019s case, Donald Trump\u2019s administration in the United States considers it a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":172208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15445,15453],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","category-world"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Daniel Zovatto: \u201cU.S. Support for Bukele\u2019s Indefinite Reelection Is Concerning\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cThe Mirror Effect of El Salvador in Latin America: It\u2019s a Laboratory for Building 21st Century Authoritarianism \u2014 \u2018Eficracy\u2019\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/world\/daniel-zovatto-u-s-support-for-bukeles-indefinite-reelection-is-concerning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Daniel Zovatto: \u201cU.S. Support for Bukele\u2019s Indefinite Reelection Is Concerning\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThe Mirror Effect of El Salvador in Latin America: It\u2019s a Laboratory for Building 21st Century Authoritarianism \u2014 \u2018Eficracy\u2019\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/en\/world\/daniel-zovatto-u-s-support-for-bukeles-indefinite-reelection-is-concerning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Confidencial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/confidencial.com.ni\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T07:20:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-12T15:46:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/confidencial.digital\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Mural-de-Nayib-Bukele.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"733\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos F. 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