San Salvador: El Salvador’s populist President Nayeb Bukele was sworn in for a second term on Saturday, asking citizens for their “unconditional support” as the government takes “bitter medicine” to improve the economy.
The 42-year-old swore in front of a crowd of supporters at the National Palace in the capital San Salvador.
After dominating the legislative elections behind pressure from brutal but popular groups, he was set to rule for another five years with full control of parliament and other state institutions.
A self-described “cool dictator”, Bukele was widely praised for his tough campaign against gangs, restoring a sense of normalcy to a society weary of violence.
Now he is turning to the economy – at his inauguration, comparing his government to a doctor and the country to a sick patient, and asking Salvadorans to defend his administration “tooth and nail” and “without hesitation”.
The campaign against the group was criticized by human rights groups, but made Bucelli the most popular leader in Latin America, according to regional polls and other peer opinions.
He was re-elected in February with 85% of the vote.
His popularity also led to a clean sweep for the New Ideas Party in the Bukele Legislative Assembly, taking 54 of the 60 seats.
Ideological allies such as Argentine President Javier Miley and former US president Donald Trump Jr., the former US president’s son, attended the ceremony, which included a military parade and a plane flyover in the colors of the Salvadoran flag.
Experts have warned that Bukele’s honeymoon with the electorate is over as economic concerns outweigh security concerns in a country with high government debt and more than a quarter of the population living in poverty.
“In this new medicine for the economy,” he said from the balcony of the palace, “we may have to drink bitter medicine … to get out of the bad economy.”
Although he laughed off accusations of authoritarianism, he sought re-election after a loyalist Supreme Court decision allowed him to lift constitutional restrictions on consistent conditions.
