El Salvador is once again at the center of global debate after its Legislative Assembly, dominated by President Nayib Bukele’s supporters, approved sweeping constitutional reforms that abolish presidential term limits. The move, finalized on July 31, 2025, paves the way for Bukele, already seven years into his tenure, to seek re-election indefinitely—a prospect that has stirred both fervent praise and deep concern within and beyond the country’s borders.
The reforms, ratified in a rapid-fire legislative session, do more than just remove the prohibition on presidential re-election. They also extend the presidential term to six years starting with the next mandate, eliminate the requirement for a second-round runoff even if no candidate achieves an absolute majority, and bring forward the end of the current term to June 1, 2027, in order to synchronize presidential, legislative, and municipal elections. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the process was "expedited" and occurred without meaningful legislative debate or public consultation—a point that has drawn sharp criticism from international observers.
Marcela Villatoro, a lawmaker for the opposition Republican National Alliance (ARENA), minced no words in her condemnation: "Today, democracy has died in El Salvador." Her sentiment echoes a growing chorus of critics who see these changes as a grave setback for the country’s democratic institutions and rule of law.
But President Bukele, who once jokingly described himself as the "world’s coolest dictator," appears unfazed by such accusations. His administration’s popularity remains sky-high, with recent polls estimating his approval rating at around 85%—a number that has regularly breached 90% since he first took office. This broad support is fueled in large part by a dramatic transformation on El Salvador’s streets. The country, long plagued by gang violence, now boasts the lowest homicide rate in the Western Hemisphere, falling from a staggering 103 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to just 1.9 per 100,000 in 2023. Bukele’s infamous ‘mano dura’ (iron fist) approach, which has seen the detention of some 75,000 individuals accused of gang activity under a repeatedly renewed "state of exception," is credited with making El Salvador safer than ever before.
Vera Bergengruen of TIME Magazine captures the change succinctly: "After decades of violence, fear and extortion, citizens can move freely in former gang-controlled ‘red zones’, lounge in parks, and go out at night." For many Salvadorans, the palpable sense of security is worth the price. Yet that price, according to human rights organizations like Amnesty International, is steep. The government’s mass incarceration program has been criticized for its lack of due process, poor prison conditions, and the suppression of civil liberties. Bukele’s critics argue that the policies amount to an "evisceration" of human rights, with allegations of arbitrary detentions and overcrowded prisons.
The IACHR, in a press release dated August 8, 2025, voiced its alarm at the recent constitutional reform, calling it "a serious setback for democracy and the rule of law." The Commission noted not only the substance of the changes but also the speed and secrecy with which they were adopted. "The lack of citizen participation and the rapid approval of such far-reaching reforms, which affect rules governing access to and exercise of political power, are essential to democracy and the rule of law," the IACHR stated. The Commission also cited the Inter-American Court’s position that indefinite presidential re-election is "contrary to the principles of representative democracy" and undermines political pluralism, alternation in power, and the separation of powers.
For its part, the Salvadoran government categorically rejected the IACHR’s assessment, labeling it "premature and incomplete." Officials insisted that the reforms were carried out in full accordance with national sovereignty and established procedures. The Legislative Assembly, they argued, acted as a deliberative and representative body, and the changes aim to "stabilize the political-electoral system, synchronize election schedules, strengthen the rule of law, and provide better conditions for national development." The government maintains that allowing re-election does not eliminate the alternation of power, but rather gives Salvadorans the freedom to choose their leaders at the ballot box.
The reforms come at a time when concerns about judicial independence in El Salvador are mounting. The IACHR highlighted the 2021 removal of judges from the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court—an action taken without due process or specific grounds, followed by the swift appointment of new judges. Shortly after, the reconstituted Chamber issued a ruling permitting the sitting president to run for a second term, a decision that laid the groundwork for the current reforms.
Beyond legal maneuvers, Bukele’s administration is marked by its savvy use of digital tools. The president himself is a prolific social media user, boasting nearly 11 million TikTok followers and 7.6 million on X (formerly Twitter)—figures that dwarf El Salvador’s population. According to Bergengruen, "TikTok is a large part of the alternative media landscape Bukele has built since his inauguration, tightly controlling and often manipulating the information disseminated." Social media analyst Alberto Escorcia described the administration’s manipulation of public opinion online as "overwhelming." The government is accused of hiring sympathetic influencers to counter negative press and of orchestrating cyber abuse campaigns against independent journalists and outlets like El Faro.
Saraí Alas, an independent journalist, told Latin America Reports that the administration "has propagated a discourse of hate towards the media and defenders of human rights," with female journalists facing particularly vicious attacks. Alas also acknowledged that the government’s achievements are widely communicated via platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and X—a testament to Bukele’s background in marketing and his understanding of the power of image.
Bukele’s embrace of technology extends to economic policy. In 2021, he made El Salvador the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, though the law was later amended to remove the obligation for businesses to accept the cryptocurrency. The president’s ambitious plan for "Bitcoin City"—a smart city funded by bitcoin and exempt from income tax—has drawn both excitement and controversy. The project has led to the forced displacement of communities to make way for infrastructure like the Aeropuerto del Pacífico, and journalists investigating the initiative have reportedly faced digital surveillance and harassment.
Amid these sweeping changes, the IACHR has called on El Salvador’s executive and legislative authorities to "strengthen and maintain democratic and independent institutions" and to ensure that any measures affecting democratic values are subject to meaningful public consultation. The Commission urged a reconsideration of the reforms permitting indefinite re-election, reminding all branches of government of their obligation to uphold the country’s international commitments to democracy and human rights.
As El Salvador stands at this crossroads, the world watches closely. Whether the country’s bold experiment in security, technology, and centralized power will bring lasting prosperity or erode the democratic foundations so hard-won in recent decades remains an open—and urgent—question.