Central America: El Salvador declares a state of emergency after a wave of murders

Central America: El Salvador declares a state of emergency after a wave of murders

On Saturday alone, 62 murders were registered in El Salvador. President Bukele reacts.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has approved a decree imposing a state of emergency in the Central American country after a wave of violence. “The decree comes into force today and is valid for 30 days,” wrote Bukele on Twitter.

The authoritarian president himself had called for the measure in view of the large number of murders in El Salvador in the past few days.

According to the police, 62 murders were registered in the country on Saturday alone. Parliament, in which Bukele’s party has a clear majority, voted in favor of a state of emergency. This will suspend certain freedoms and guarantees provided for in the Constitution for 30 days.

A few years ago, El Salvador, a country of six million people and where gangs are responsible for most violent crime, had the highest murder rate in the world. In 2015, this was 103 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, three years later it was 51 murders. According to government figures, under Bukele the number fell to 20 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020.

But critics see Bukele’s authoritarian style of government as a threat to democracy. For example, the fact that he had soldiers march in parliament in February 2020 caused horror. He wanted to put pressure on MPs to approve the financing of his security concept with a loan. It is disputed what caused the fall in the murder rate under Bukele. He dismissed a report of an agreement between the government and the gangs.

Source: Stern

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