Overview

• The Legislative Assembly enacted reforms abolishing term limits, eliminating runoff elections, extending presidential terms to six years, and advancing the next election to 2027.
• Bukele’s party has strengthened executive control by removing Supreme Court justices and the attorney general, purging judges, and curbing opposition party funding.
• Under Bukele’s state of exception against gangs, homicides have plunged from thousands annually to just over 100, driving his high approval ratings.
• According to human rights groups, more than 40 journalists and 20 activists have fled El Salvador in recent months due to a widening crackdown.
• President Bukele defends the amendments by comparing them to parliamentary democracies’ practices and accusing critics of applying a double standard to poorer countries.