Editing El Salvador (section)

=== Bukele presidency (2019–present) ===

[[File: Nayib Bukele talks at his inauguration ceremony.jpg|thumb|Nayib Bukele speaks at his inauguration ceremony.]]
On 1 June 2019, [[Nayib Bukele]] became the new president of El Salvador.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ALEMAN |first1=MARCOS |title=El Salvador's president sworn in, ending 2-party dominance |url=https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |website=AP NEWS |date=1 June 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619065325/https://apnews.com/article/d1f6dee4a85e4fb3a6cf133335e31f7e |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was the winner of February [[2019 Salvadoran presidential election|2019 presidential election]]. He represented GANA, as he was denied participating with the newly formed Nuevas Ideas party. ARENA and the FMLN, El Salvador's two main parties, had dominated politics in El Salvador over the past three decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador election: Nayib Bukele claims presidency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |website=BBC News |date=4 February 2019 |access-date=26 March 2021 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309112718/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-47113249 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a report by the [[International Crisis Group]] (ICG) 2020, the homicide rate in El Salvador had dropped by as much as 60% since Bukele became president in June 2019. The reason might{{Weasel inline|date=June 2024}} have been a "non-aggression deal" between parts of the government and the gangs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DUDLEY |first1=STEVEN |title=The El Salvador President's Informal Pact with Gangs |url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |website=InSight Crime |date=2 October 2020 |access-date=11 April 2021 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411185730/https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The party [[Nuevas Ideas]] (NI, "New Ideas"), founded by Bukele, with its ally (GANA) won around 63% of the vote in the February 2021 [[2021 Salvadoran legislative election|legislative elections]]. His party and allies won 61 seats, well over the coveted supermajority of 56 seats in the 84-seat parliament, allowing for uncontested decisions at the legislative level. The supermajority permits President Bukele's party to appoint judiciary members and pass laws with little to no opposition, for instance, to remove presidential term limits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brigida |first1=Anna-Catherine |last2=Sheridan |first2=Mary Beth |title=El Salvador's leader wins control of legislature in midterm vote; critics fear rising authoritarianism |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412030843/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=centralamerica>{{cite web |last1=Dyde |first1=James |title=El Salvador Legislative Elections 2021 |url=https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |website=centralamerica |date=1 March 2021 |access-date=27 March 2021 |archive-date=13 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413072002/https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 8 June 2021, at the initiative of President Bukele, pro-government deputies in the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador|Legislative Assembly]] voted [[Bitcoin Law|legislation]] to make [[bitcoin]] [[legal tender]] in the country.<ref name=btcasamblea202106>[https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 El Salvador, primer país del mundo en reconocer al Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222071910/https://www.asamblea.gob.sv/node/11282 |date=22 December 2021 }}, 9 June 2021, official website of the [[Legislative Assembly of El Salvador]]</ref><ref name=btcelsalvador20210608>{{cite news|title=Diputados oficialistas aprueban el Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal, ¿en qué consiste?|url=https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|work=El Salvador|date=8 June 2021|access-date=9 June 2021|archive-date=18 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018183800/https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/oficialismo-aprobar-bitcoin-moneda-legal-el-salvador/846796/2021/|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court ruled to allow Bukele to run for a second term in 2024, despite the fact that the constitution prohibits the president to serve two consecutive terms in office. The decision was organized by judges appointed to the court by Bukele.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 September 2021 |title=El Salvador court drops ban on presidential reelection |url=https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=AP NEWS |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606033203/https://apnews.com/article/elections-el-salvador-9dcbdb58df7fec5b43b289c3eb269730 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 February 2021, El Salvador became the first Central American country to be awarded certification for the elimination of [[malaria]] by the [[World Health Organization|WHO]].<ref>{{cite web |title=El Salvador certified as malaria-free by WHO |url=https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |website=www.who.int |language=en |access-date=23 August 2023 |archive-date=23 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230823230611/https://www.who.int/news/item/25-02-2021-el-salvador-certified-as-malaria-free-by-who |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2022, the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make [[cryptocurrency]] legal tender. Bitcoin had rapidly lost about half of its value, meaning economic difficulties and, as of May 2022, with government bonds trading at 40% of their original value, the prospect of a looming [[sovereign default]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|first=Isabella|last=Cota|title=El Salvador expected to default as bitcoin plummets|website=[[El País]]|date=10 May 2022|access-date=13 May 2022|archive-date=13 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513120812/https://english.elpais.com/economy-and-business/2022-05-10/el-salvador-expected-to-default-as-bitcoin-plummets.html|url-status=live}}</ref> however, as of April 2025, the value of bitcoin since it was declared legal tender is trading twice the price that it was when El Salvador made it legal tender. Bukele announced back in January 2022 plans to build [[Bitcoin City]] at the base of a volcano in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news |title=IMF urges El Salvador to remove bitcoin as legal tender |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |work=BBC News |date=26 January 2022 |access-date=8 February 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208190323/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2022, the Salvadoran government initiated a massive [[2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown|fight against criminal gangs]] and gang-related violence. A state of emergency was declared on 27 March and was extended on 20 July. More than 53,000 suspected gang members were arrested, precipitating the highest reported [[List of countries by incarceration rate|incarceration rate]] in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador gangs: State of emergency extended again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |work=BBC News |date=20 July 2022 |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109105219/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ending El Salvador's Cycle of Gang Violence |url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |website=United States Institute of Peace |language=en |access-date=9 November 2022 |archive-date=9 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109101404/https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence |url-status=dead }}</ref> The crackdown has reportedly produced hundreds of deaths of detainees, with international human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] declaring it the worst abuse of human rights in the country since its civil war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/el-salvador-experiencing-alarming-regression-human-rights-report-2023-12-05/|title=El Salvador experiencing 'alarming regression' on human rights -report|publisher=Reuters|date=December 5, 2023|access-date=August 17, 2024}}</ref>

On 30 November 2023, the Legislative Assembly granted Bukele and Vice President Felix Ulloa a leave of absence so that they could focus on their [[2024 Salvadoran general election|2024 re-election campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=BATRES |first=Oscar |title=El Salvador's Bukele Granted Leave Of Absence For Reelection Bid |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |access-date=2023-12-14 |website=www.barrons.com |language=en-US |archive-date=16 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231216101457/https://www.barrons.com/news/el-salvador-s-bukele-granted-leave-of-absence-for-reelection-bid-a68107e4 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bukele was succeeded by [[Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara]] as acting president, the first female president in Salvadoran history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|title=Asamblea Otorga Permiso a Bukele para que Realice Campaña|trans-title=Assembly Grants Bukele Permission to Realize His Campaign|language=es|date=30 November 2023|access-date=30 November 2023|work=[[La Prensa Gráfica]]|first1=Gabriel|last1=Campos Madrid|archive-date=1 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201233327/https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Asamblea-otorga-permiso-a-Bukele-para-que-realice-campana-20231130-0091.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2024, it was announced that homicide rate dropped nearly 70% year over year, with 154 in 2023 compared to 495 homicides in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Drastic drop in murders caused the popularity of El Salvador's president to soar {{!}} Semafor |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/01/04/2024/drastic-drop-in-murders-caused-the-popularity-of-el-salvadors-president-to-soar |work=www.semafor.com |date=4 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref> On 4 February 2024, Bukele won re-election with 83% of the vote in [[2024 Salvadoran general election|general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador: Bukele confirmed as president after final count – DW – 02/10/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215090601/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |url-status=live }}</ref> His party Nuevas Ideas won 58 of the parliament's 60 seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador votes must be recounted, says electoral court – DW – 02/06/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |work=dw.com |language=en |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=21 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221174137/https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 1 June 2024, he was sworn in for his second five-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador's 'all-powerful' gang-busting President Bukele sworn in for second term |url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240601-el-salvador-s-all-powerful-gang-busting-president-bukele-sworn-in-for-second-term |work=France 24 |date=1 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> In February 2025, El Salvador’s Congress agreed to remove Bitcoin's legal tender status, following pressure from the [[International Monetary Fund]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dig.watch/updates/bitcoin-is-no-longer-legal-tender-in-el-salvador|title=Bitcoin is no longer legal tender in El Salvador |date=7 February 2025|website=Digital Watch Observatory}}</ref>