Nayib Bukele claims landslide victory and says Spanish democracy is a colonial fraud in impassioned speech to supporters
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s millennial president, attacked Spanish colonialism and imperialism in a fiery victory speech after he won a landslide victory.
Amid claims he is turning the country into a dictatorship, he boasted to flag-waving crowds below the presidential palace that El Salvador would be the first country with “a one-party system in a democracy”.
“The entire opposition together was pulverised,” Mr Bukele, who once styled himself the “world’s coolest dictator”, told the cheering masses.
The baseball cap-wearing Mr Bukele, 42, has become vastly popular for his war on gangs, but he has also been accused of stifling the courts and silencing opposition.
In his speech he said a Spanish journalist had recently asked him why he wants to dismantle democracy.
It’s the first time I heard about that… is that a common nonsensical political trope?
Considering Latin America has had multiple coupes caused by the US I can see why their populace is bit suseptical to that sort of rhetoric.
Multiple coups, stolen elections, entire systems of control and oppression by American corporations (banana republics), etc.
In Cuba they literally went from super racist and clinging to Spain, to multicultural and trying to get independence from Spain, then back to Jim Crow type racism because of US influences.
Latin America also has a rich and beautiful history of democracy and relative cultural unity so it’s still surprising to see all these dictators come to power. Almost every single country (if not every single one) that revolted against Spain from 1808-1825 ended up becoming a democracy. We need to put this thought at the forefront so as to avoid dictatorial strongmen.
It pops up in countries that were historical targets of colonialism. Usually by the dictators who took over when the European power was kicked out.