I don’t keep up much with the politics of Central American countries. It’s always the same story, let’s try socialism for the 400th time. But El Salvador has been making some noise lately, and they’re doing things that deserve attention. So what exactly is going on in El Salvador?

El Salvador has always been a rough place, even by Latin American standards. It has been in a constant state of turmoil, coups, and civil wars for almost all of its existence. It carried one of the highest homicide rates in not just Latin America, but the entire world. Nayib Bukele, right wing politician and businessman, became president in 2019, ending 30 years of left-wing government.

Bukele sounds interesting. His parents were Palestinian Christians that fled to San Salvador. Bukele himself owned a Yamaha company, he’s not just some guy who’s spent his entire life in NGOs and non-profits. This guy actually worked for a living. He’s also only 41 (take note, America). I’d have a beer with Bukele, which I couldn’t say about any of the plastic weirdos we have in DC.

Part of his platform was reducing crime. Bukele rounded up all the gangs and used the military to do it. The homicide rate dropped by 60%. That’s an amazing achievement. Funny how right wing politicians tend to always do this.

Bukele has also aggressively attacked the drug trafficking rings that have basically been the de facto government for El Salvador. To do this, he has tightened up border security. Sound familiar? 

Economically, they get a decent grade on their report card. Inflation has been stable for 3 years. 10% GDP growth in 2021! Debt is about 70% of GDP, which is the equivalent of a 850 credit score by US standards.

They have very low barriers of entry for businesses and very low taxes. They use the USD as official legal tender (boo) but also use Bitcoin as official legal tender (yay!). Bukele, being younger than 75, seems to have his eyes and ears open to new ideas. He isn’t stuck in the post-WW2 mindset. If you’re into free markets and not just paying lip service to them, you should watch El Salvador.

Also, 85% of the country identifies as Christian. My ears are perking, tell me more…

Are these changes sustainable? Who knows, this is Latin America we are talking about. Political instability is part of the DNA and coups are always right around the corner. I’m more worried about the global involvement in El Salvador as the current regime doesn’t take kindly to right wingers who clean up crime and corruption. Does Bukele get “Bolsonaro’d?”

Regardless, I like a success story. I like when people are rewarded for doing the right thing. So I wish Bukele and El Salvador the best of luck. And I think the country is worth paying attention to.

Anyone else paying attention to whats going on down there? Can El Salvador pull off a “Chilean Miracle?”