Today, children play football fearlessly at night on the streets of El Salvador, a Latin American country once known as the ‘Murder Capital’ of the world. This change was possible because of 44-year-old President Naib Bukele, whom his fans call a ‘messiah’ and his opponents a ‘brutal dictator’. US President Donald Trump has also been praising him and has even invited him to the White House. Bukele, with his 92% popularity, has made the country safer than America, but democracy is paying the price. El Salvador, with a population of 64 lakh, is the country in the world where 1.9% of the people (1 out of every 50 people) are imprisoned. Bukele, the world’s unique experiment that kept democracy at bay, had declared himself ‘the world’s coolest dictator’ on X. The result of their ‘thok do’ model is that the murder rate in the country was 104 in 2015, which has come down to just 1.9 (per one lakh) in 2026. Experts question whether this ‘peace’ achieved without impartial investigation and human rights will last for a long time? At present, Bukele’s upside-down hat and tough tone have become the most powerful ‘brand’ of Latin American politics. Families sobbing behind the glow of security On the morning of Friday, March 25, 2022, bodies littered the streets of El Salvador. 62 people murdered in just one day. The bloodiest day since the 1980 civil war. This was the work of the MS-13 gang. The gang wanted to stop President Bukele’s Surf City tourism project. 87 people were killed in three days. Then President Bukele imposed a state of emergency. Constitutional rights were abolished. More than 10,000 arrests were made over the next two weeks. Now Bukele has approved such a law, in which there is a provision of life imprisonment even for children up to 12 years of age. Human rights groups say that thousands of innocent youth have been thrown into jail cells on mere suspicion, where there are no windows and no permission to meet their families. There are 100 prisoners in a cell with a capacity of 30. But Bukele doesn’t care. Bitcoin Experiment Bukele made Bitcoin a legal currency in 2021. El Salvador became the first country in the world to do so, but it had to be withdrawn in 2025 due to economic instability and public opposition. The dream of ‘Bitcoin City’ is still incomplete. Analysts say, ‘Bukele has shown that if you make the public feel safe, they are ready to sacrifice even their fundamental rights and freedom of the press.’
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अल-सल्वाडोर के तानाशाह का ‘ठोक दो’ मॉडल: हत्या दर 104 से घटकर 1.9 पर आई; अब 12 साल के बच्चों को भी उम्रकैद
