Photo courtesy of PresidenciaSV via WikiMedia Commons
Amid widespread gang violence, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has received mixed responses to his recent declaration of a national state of emergency. Above, Bukele delivers an address.
By Sophie Soloway ’23
Global Editor
Following a Congress-approved state of emergency on March 27, over 10,000 gang-related arrests were made across El Salvador, according to NBC News. This sanctioned crackdown on gang violence was reportedly in response to the 62 killings that occurred within a single day earlier that week, the BBC said.
Reactions to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s state of emergency have been mixed, causing international conversations regarding both the country’s economic feasibility as well as the actions the government has taken to protect its citizens from gang-based violence.
According to Cora Fernandez Anderson, assistant professor of politics at Mount Holyoke, this most recent culmination of gang violence and mass arrests follows a tumultuous period of economic instability within the country.
“El Salvador has been struggling both economically and politically, but in particular around the lack of safety in large cities given the presence of gang violence,” Fernandez Anderson said.
As stated in a Human Rights Watch report, approximately 60,000 Salvadorans were involved in gangs in 2021. These gangs — which are known to displace, injure or kill other citizens — have grown in size and power amid widespread poverty. As Óscar Martínez, author of “A History of Violence: Living and Dying in Central America,” remarked in an interview with the New Americans Story Project, following peace accords made in 1992, “There was never an economic agreement of reconciliation created that would lift the majority of the people out of poverty. There was no agreement concerned with either social restructuring or giving victims assistance.”
Due to this lack of institutional support, many Salvadoran citizens have experienced poverty. With the World Bank reporting a poverty rate of 22.3 percent in 2019, many in the country struggle to survive. Within these poverty-induced struggles, issues of gang violence and government response become increasingly critical.
“In the end, if El Salvador wants the gangs out of power and prove they are tough on crime, they need to start with preventative actions by supporting those most likely to join a gang,” Bria Carlson ’23, an international relations major, said. “I believe the government needs to come in and support their citizens through welfare programs, especially in low-income areas.”
As Fernandez Anderson noted, attempts have been made to lessen these instances of violence in El Salvador. Specifically, as the BBC reported, Bukele largely based his 2019 campaign on promises to increase security and diminish organized crime.
“Many governments have tried to control the situation unsuccessfully and Bukele has managed to at least reduce the number of homicides to a certain extent. This has kept his approval ratings quite high despite other areas of his administration being in disarray,” Fernandez Anderson said.
Despite his role in reducing murder rates, some members of the global audience continue to view Bukele as a possible inciter of the most recent spike in violence within El Salvador.
“I have read that the fall of homicides has been a result of a secret negotiation he made with some of the gangs in which he offered benefits for their leaders and members in prison in exchange for the reduction of violence. This has generated criticism of his government,” Fernandez Anderson stated.
These criticisms come from a 2020 El Faro report that, according to intelligence reports, proved that Bukele’s administration repeatedly met with incarcerated leaders of the country’s most prominent gang, Mara Salvatrucha 13. According to the report, negotiators from the gang entered an agreement to reduce murder rates in exchange for looser prison measures.
To José Miguel Cruz, director of research at Florida International University’s Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, “It shows the weaknesses of the supposed pact between the government and gangs,” as written in Al Jazeera.
Fernandez Anderson echoed this analysis, saying, “The recent killings were caused by gang members randomly shooting in the streets of San Salvador leaving at least 62 people dead. This has been a rare occurrence since this is not the typical way violence manifests in the country. I have read reports that explain this as gangs putting more pressure on Bukele’s government to reach a better deal than before. As a result the government established a state of siege.”
This “state of siege,” which is said to last for 30 days, will allow the government to make arrests with fewer legal constraints, intercept communications between citizens and restrict citizens’ right to free assembly, according to The New York Times.
To some, these restrictions only amplify concerns regarding authoritarianism under Bukele’s leadership in El Salvador.
“There are signs of authoritarian tendencies like the removal of supreme court judges and appointing allies as replacements. This court has authorized him to run for re-election even though this is not allowed in the constitution,” Fernandez Anderson said.
Specifically, the call to restrict gatherings comes after civil unrest and activism spread throughout the country in response to some of Bukele’s previous actions.
“Protests have been ongoing since last year when in May, Bukele replaced the [Constitutional] Court with new appointments, all of [whom] are his supporters. Accusations of authoritarianism among opposition parties and civil society organizations had led to protests. There was also international condemnation of these actions,” Fernandez Anderson said.
As Carlson concluded, “The international community is worried about this situation in El Salvador because of the police brutality towards these gang members — with their government’s support no less — which goes against international human rights law. Not only are the arrests resulting in bloodied gang members, but those arrested are being held for 15 days without charges and not being given legal counsel.”