The World Is Finally Seeing How Dangerous Bukele Really Is
5th May 2025
The New York Times, a Voice of the Crust.
This is just a straight up ideological partisan hit-piece. First three paragraphs:
In May 2020, during the height of Covid, El Salvador was under a military-enforced lockdown. At a news conference, I asked President Nayib Bukele a straightforward question about meeting with the business community about reopening the economy. Mr. Bukele bristled and criticized the founder of El Faro, the news outlet where I work.
Afterward, I received death threats from Mr. Bukele’s supporters. One that still stands out was written on Twitter by someone outside the country: “I want to go back to El Salvador so badly and shoot you 3 times in the head so you stop being a fool.”
The reaction was typical of a certain strain of Mr. Bukele’s followers, who treat criticism of the president as an unforgivable sin. After six years, he is still wildly popular, with a national approval rating of over 80 percent. Much of the diaspora is devoted to him as well. While the idealized version of him — an efficient, eloquent leader who has reduced crime in the country and is committed to fighting corruption — sounds great, the reality is that he is a mercurial and unrestrained politician who controls every institution at the expense of the country’s democracy.
‘A military-enforced lockdown’. That’s what every proglodyte statist was pushing for, even in the U.S. But, of course, Bukele was a Heretic and a Sinner, so down with him!
“Mr. Bukele bristled and criticized the founder of El Faro, the news outlet where I work.” How does this differ from the behavior of, oh, way, the New York Times? Or any Democrat politician anywhere?
“Afterward I received death threats from Mr. Bukele’s supporters.” Welcome to our world. What Republican hasn’t received death threats from Biden and Obama supporters?
“The reaction was typical of a certain strain of Mr. Bukele’s followers, who treat criticism of the president as an unforgivable sin.” Sounds like every Narrative Media outlet in support of every Democrat politician ever.
“After six years, he is still wildly popular, with national approval rating of over 80 percent.” Sounds like democracy to me. But I guess it has to be the right kind of democracy to suit the author.
The last sentence is just a smear job–sure, he’s eloquent and efficient and has reduced crime and wants to fight corruption, but really he’s a swine (an assertion for which neither evidence nor argument is presented). This isn’t journalism. The NYT ought to be ashamed to have published it.