I'm salvadoran so I will leave my two cents here. I experienced my first shoot out when I was 5 years old. I have lost people to gang violence, both family and classmates. A big chunk of my family and childhood friends had to leave the country. My generation grew up surrounded by an obscene amount of violence. Everyday you would read in the newspapers that 15-30 people were murdered by gangs in a country that's the size of Delaware. However, since Bukele took office: My family's small business has stopped paying protection money, the gangmembers who collected it have all been sent to jail or shot down by cops. Also, most family members have come back and are trying to make a living with the newfound peace we are enjoying. It's not much, but at least it's BETTER than the hell we were living in before. I'm not here to convince anyone about anything. Just wanted to state facts that I, as a salvadoran citizen, have experienced. Take it as you will.
It's something people who haven't lived through it will not understand, fire has to be fought with fire, you can't negotiate with gangs that don't operate under the law.
Another Salvadorean here, when you have been robbed on the street at gun point or with a knife to your ribs for DECADES, when you knew people killed by gangmembers (in my case former co-workers), when you could not visit your family out of fear due to heavy gang presence. Having Bukele as president and actually seeing the results It feels like an unreal victory for the good people. Really like something I would not see in my lifetime. You have to be insane to want to go back to the hell we were before.
Filthy, ignorant, American scum here- was wondering if there's any particular reason behind massive gangs in the region. I understand the existence of gang *members* in such quantity, but the sheer size and scale of gangs is mind-boggling to me. Isn't there in-fighting? Why haven't they broken into several smaller gangs? If you don't have any idea, that's okay. I know not every person in a place knows everything about that place. I'd just like to understand a bit more. And for a lighter topic: What's your favorite local dessert?
Although I do agree with your points about how Bukele made the country peaceful again, his powerful grip on the government is scary imo. I live in algeria, where we had a president that brought peace to our country after a decade of terror attacks done by rebels. His first term was iconic, as he made the rebels come down the mountains peacefully; while he was doing that, he was slowly taking down committee's who would try and investigate funds he was smuggling and the corruption that was going on around him, his entourrage and the army. The second term was another round of trying to manipulate the info and tell people that his job is not over; it was just another term where he modified the constitution making him eligible to run for another term. The third and fourth one were just where people gave up and stopped caring because of the day to day corruption. I dont want the Salvadorean people go through the same situation we went through. Furthermore, I do hope that Bukele is not like how Bouteflika was.
@@moneyman8735 Thank you for your thoughts and I completely respect your opinion as it's based on experience, Blessings to your contry as well! Only time will tell the outcome, hopefully it will be for the greater good!
Although where i live is a lot safer, Canada still has a gang crime problem. Indigenous and black majority gangs in cities are mostly the ones causing a lot of problems crime wise. If we had a Nayib Bukele in office he would be most loved.
There are reasons terms are capped to 4 years etc, this thing can easily lead to a dictator taking power after this guy and ruining all the good he created, through the weakening of the institutions/corruption
I feel like there’s two problems and neither are necessarily with Bukele himself. 1. Who comes after Bukele? He is a rare example of someone who has used his power well. When he either dies or steps down, there will be a large power vacuum. That tends to beget a lot of conflict. 2. People will look at his example and assume that (fill in the blank populist politician) would be able to accomplish something similar with power. This is a risky gamble and probably won’t turn out all that well for any countries that try it.
Say that to Rwanda, that has done it for decades, one of the most prosperous country in Africa Don’t believe everything the west does politically should be the norm, far from it
Man I hear you. That is the big questions with good leaders. They are few, bold and defiant. Even in the case of Rwanda, Kagame once lamented on who will inherit the country when I am gone. It's best to train from within, normally a close relative, friend or Military personnel who shares the same ideals. Think of the vacum Putin, Xi Jinpin etc will leave when they are gone. How does one prepare for that ?
Great points, but should nothing be done then? Should the people of el salvador be left to suffer more while solutions are being discussed, while people are still making ip their minds? what i think a lot of people are missing is that el salvador was the murder capital of the WORLD, everyday innocent people were dying for no reason, yes he’s one in a million, yes he’s not going to be in power forever, yes innocents have suffered under his rule still, but what was the right way to do it? What was a better way to do it? When was the right time to do it? There’s a lot to be learned still and it will be that way for a long time, but things have changed for the better, im sure he’s well aware of it too.
@@ManuelGonzalez-uy1fl I completely agree, I was just mentioning two potential consequences of his actions. I think if he develops a well-known plan to transition power upon his death/resignation or hand-picks a successor, it would go well.
The problem was that everyone needs a president that knows what everybody wants and not what some people want and hes going to sacrifice himself for that because when hes not the president anymore hes going to be in a trial for abusing the criminals do some questionable thing its not like fujimori who did the same with terrorism but in a bad manner and deserve the time in prison bukelele hes what the people will remember as a hero
@@Bond047 who cares about this human rights BS, he is getting his country together, bringing positive results and changes, protecting his own people and all these "human rights activists" only care about the human rights of criminals lol The problem in the west is we are too scared to be strict and clean things up in fear of being criticized as "unethical" and violating human rights, which is just a new western concept developed in recent decades. Criminals done wrong to people so they don't deserve rights. In America, cops are seen as evil, they are defunded, criticized of being "brutal" with criminals , delinquents and people who are about to commit crimes and now what has happened? Cops quit, they are defunded, more crime on the streets, criminals run around unpunished so it reinforces them to commit crimes again and again, every single city in America has a rotting city center full of homelessness, drug addicts and criminals.
I'm form El Salvador too, and I'm really impressed at how fairly you spoke about Bukele. It's hard to find anything that doesn't depict him as a saint or a demon. This video made me even tear up a little because of how much our country has gained in safety, but also how much it cost in terms of democracy and wrongful imprisonments. Thankfully no one close to me has been taken but I know people who have relatives they haven't heard of in months. It's horrible, but the improvement in safety is undeniable. I myself have a hard time supporting Bukele due to his blatant disregard of the law, but at the same time I wouldn't want to go back to the way it was before.
Interesting and real perspective. It's nice to see someone like yourself that acknowledges the sacrifices made and not just the good that came from it. I get situations can get so dire, things like this are needed. I just worry what happens when someone less capable or that is corrupted takes his place.
The only problem is that what would happen when the crackdown is lifted or Bukele leaves office? Unless successive politicians down the line continue to place the country under a constant police state, this doesn't really solve the problem of gang violence, not to mention that this would likely create new gangs within his wake. As someone else in the comments pointed out, gangs in El Salvador have operated as protection rackets. Now the police are operating as protection rackets.
How many innocent men and boys are being raped and traumatized by the gang members in his stadium-sized jails? What if it was your son who was randomly picked up by police with no basis or evidence of gang activity? What horrors will happen to the wrongly accused trapped in that hellish prison?
@@Ace-cc1em Absolutely agreed, and that is something I'm personally worried about and that have had to consider when planning for the future with my family. I do feel that at this point police and military personnel that patrol the streets are now the people we fear the most, at least for me and my circle. But it's not as bad as gangs were up until recently. Can't speak for everyone in the country, though.
@@ginwilliams4202 you are very right, but I think unless you have lived through something similar, you can't really understand the other side. How many innocent men, boys, women and girls have to suffer all over the country before we really do something about the violence? How many murders? How many people have to live in fear? How many youths have to be lost to the gangs? How many smal businesses have to close? I don't know a single person, not one, who has a business in a physical space who hasn't had to pay "renta" to the gangs before all this. Gangs we're squeezing money out of everyone, and they killed people who didn't pay up. I personally have many friends who have fled the country due to gang threats. Half my wife's family had to escape where they lived. We're not talking about a number going down. Yes, the cost is measured in lives, but so is the benefit. And no, I'm far from a supporter of Bukele, but I can't just ignore the greatness of both sides.
I just visited El Salvador. I only visited the beach, for surfing. In talking to a friend who lives in the city and others i met, they stated it is amazing to open small businesses now and enjoy life in the city without fear. Everyone i met was awesome. Would love to return
I'm from Mexico, also a crime-ridden state, and I literally cried over hearing that it's possible for a violent country to find peace. Thank you for sharing
We, sí aquí hacemos esto, nunca nos vamos a poder a quitar un presidente así del poder. Igual y les tocó mucha suerte en El Salvador (basándose en info del video) pero creo que la cantidad de control y poder que tiene es súper peligroso en manos de alguien menos noble.
Incomparable, gang members in el salvador don't have military grade weapons, or military training, cartel has ex military soldiers and mexico is way too massive
@@beam1k just because *this* implementation won't work doesn't mean there isn't one that will. There *is* hope, we just need to work hard enough to find it.
@@Salvadordaliization Not true for cities which insist on the traditional approach (as Rio, São Paulo) or for cities which are taking on a more "humanized" approach (Salvador, Porto Alegre)
As a Salvadorean this is one of the most fair videos about bukele, they usually praise bukele like a god or they go to the other extreme and think is the devil. Your conclusion is super fair both what bukele has done right and the possible risk of having a dictator. I feel way safe in El Salvador now that gangs have been dismantled, in the past I had to take so many precautions because of the high criminality rates, I lived in fear and that is gone. However if our own history and the ones from other Latin American countries has taught us, dictators are super volatile, they can start "good" and at any moment they can flip the switch and destroy a country. And bukele has the power to flip the switch since it has destroy all democratic institutions, you mention the supreme court and that is the biggest one but it has destroyed all institutions, he has complete control of the country without having to respond to anyone, we are completely in the dark about the financial state of the country and our debt just as an example. The only thing I can hope is that bukele stays sane and doesn't do something stupid.
@@christiangoulden4399 I am not sure probably in favor but is hard to know since we are a very religious country, there were some talks in the past but it never came to anything. That said bukele is smart and instead of approving death penalty and the political cost of that, he is executing them silently by putting gang members in infra human situations, I have seen the state of jails in El Salvador ( I am a lawyer) and I am not exaggerating I rather be dead than being on prison, gang members frequently die of a simple infection.
El problema es el futuro. No puedes mantener toda esa gente en la carcel y encarcelando a personas que nisiquiera sabes si son pandilleros, puedes estar creando un reclutamiento masivo a estas. Cuando vuelvan a integrarse socialmente estas personas, van a tener estigmas por ser pandilleros, y su una vía de salida va ser ... efectivamente ser pandilleros. Asi que la solución a corto plazo, (y que no es ninguna solución, ya que cambio "asesinatos" por "bajas" a lo que considera arbitrariamente "pandilleros" y violaciones masivas a los DDHH, o sea tecnicamente cambio crimines comunes por crimenes de estado), finalmente va llevar a tener más violencia en un futuro. Despues de que el estado este desfinanciado con uniformados fuertemente armados, estos mismos van a comernzar a ser el problema, esto sumado de que las pandillas van a ser más grandes gracias a que Bukele los esta uniendo a todos dentro de las carceles. Esto ovbiamente va a llevar a más violencia aun, ya que Bukele no esta solucionando problemas sociales, y esta implementando una dictadura neoliberal. Siendo muy sincero, creo que Bukele a transformado a El Salvador en un pais peligroso a bomba de relojería.
As a Salvadorean I can say I lived the worst moments of my life when I was there in 2008 I was in a bus while 4 gang members of the MS-13 took over and stole everyone in the bus their mobile phones and left everyone without their cell phones I was so scared they had guns and knives I felt terrified
I’m an immigration attorney in New York focusing primarily on Asylum cases. Based on what I’ve heard from clients about the gang violence I can understand why the citizens would overwhelmingly follow Bukele.
I'm an American engineer in NJ, and I'm somewhat jealous of El Salvador because their leader is better than our last two leaders. I wish our leader was half as good as theirs. Why can't we elect a strong leader who knows how to be effective? Our two front runners are Biden and Trump. It's official. The US people are doing too many drugs
95% of all crimes is due because of money, get rid of the money system. See how the world changes in an instance. Noone takes anything once we are all dead anywho.
He's far better than what was happening before with the do nothing politicians and often dealing with these ugly situations requires tough solutions. The real test will be what happens after things stabilize and El Salvador is in a good place. Will he tone down more moderate or will he go full Palpatine? The world is yet to see.
As a small business owner living here, I can say the ambience of the country has changed incredibly. The thing most people would openly and understandbley criticize Bukele about is his questionable decisions with Bitcoin, and also some accusations of corruption and lack of transparency with where some of the government spending goes. Besides that though, pretty much everyone wants him to stay as president. Businesses have been booming and so has foreign investment and tourism. The international community can lambast him as much as they want, but it's worth noting it was an autocrat that made Singapore into what it is today (it's actually something Bukele has vocally stated he wants to emulate). Who's to say El Salvador might not also go down that road in the future.
Hey if he continues to be a good leader doing his best for the people then fantastic, but history has a lot of autocrats that did good in the beginning then turned into monsters.
The US and UN is scared of him not because he's a dictator. But because he showed his people that fixing a corrupt system can happen. Imaging if the us did that. How many government officials are scared to death of what happened there happing to them.
@@blazer168 thats true. he hasnt been the leader for that long and a lot of autocrats get way worse the longer they are in power. they may now celebrate him for ending gang violence, but what in 10 years, when gang violence hasnt been a problem for some time and the arbitrary arrests havent stopped? the guy has the chance to still be an overall force of good, but it will heavily depend on whether he can deal with one day not having a 90% approval rating and not having an absolute majority parliament.
I traveled in 2019. Had to pay ms13 to allow me entry to my grandmas house. They were also charging a monthly business fee to allow her to sell bread and make a living. She tells me how every week there was a rival gang member dead in the neighborhood. I just traveled may 2023. No killing. No gang fees. Streets are clean. Economy is flourishing. Can’t blame the ppl for not being blind to positive change. Let’s go EL SALVADOR
@@maaz322 Exactly. And his opposition, especially those from around the world, are mad and in panic because they hadn't the opportunity to stuff some daggers in his back. Ceasarian figures are a danger for all those that manage problems instead of solving them.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 The US is authoritarian unironically as well. They just keep you fat and dumb to do anything. The whole democracy thing is a scam.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 what else you want them to do? They had NO CHOICE. And if it take one man and one party to fix things, then so be it. The will of the people.
As a Singaporean, yes, sometimes a single "benevolent" leader who's willing to play hard ball and clean up the country will appear, and democratic checks and balances will hold this person back. Unfortunately such "benevolent" leaders are once in a generation. It's unlikely the successors will be as good as he was. Lee Kwan Yew was a product of his time. Modern Singapore has been incredibly peaceful and made the small ruling elite filthy rich, hardly the ideal environment to produce a leader of LKY's calibre. Make sure to close up those legal loopholes and reintroduce the checks and balances after use.
Yup I wanted to comment, this is LKY pt2. LKY was notorious, he had the balls of the army, police, courts, parliament, ministers, and the big corporates / infrastructure leaders wrapped up and leashed But boy did he bring this slum, literally kicked out, into a world power. And then dropped dead at a ripe old age. Very controversial in his continuous terms and limited freedom and confucious-esque sentiments and crackdown on oppositions But to most, he did his job. Honestly, I can't think of many cities that exist where I can live without fear, go down and eat, take a bus or train to literally every public part of the city. Heck, the fact that I know I can call the police and not expect to be dead or falsely imprisoned, is truly remarkable as a minority. Even with the microaggression and whatnot.
thats because the new leaders betrayed LKY and is now turning singapore into a neo liberal shithole instead of the planned economy based on china. and slowly Singapore is becoming an American vassal completely different than what LKY imagined the country to be
@@Yadobler china is just a larger singapore lol, theres a fuck ton of propaganda about planned economies to make it look bad, thats why smaller countries are looked at in the west as an interesting experiment in autocracy working, except big countries work to, its just a threat to the west so they spew out propaganda daily. its the reason why yugoslavia got torn apart. they are trying to do the same to china now but failing which is why the propaganda is on full force
Is more than just the violence that he has fixed. He still prioritizes and has invested heavily in education, while also trying to modernize the country.
If he rules for 20+ years but never invested in education then the country will just fall back. If he can keep the country running much more safe and efficiently, while also providing much better educational opportunities for the next generation, he can help guarantee a positive future for the country.
@@MrReese actually, the second half of the video doesn't talk about any continuing investment in education, so this comment is helpful to give extra context
Yes! People tend to think policing on its own can solve systemic problems (as many in the USA think). Investing in infrastructure, public health initiatives, and education is the key-not bailouts for multinational corporations, useless global conflicts, or more prisons. The whole point is to crack down on the societal issues that make people commit crime, which is poverty, lack of education, and a lack of opportunities. Imagine if individuals in these communities had educated role models to look up to and not just notorious gang members.
As a Salvadoran, I will say that I was skeptical about him since the beginning. However, he won me over the work that he has done and how El Salvador has improved during his presidency. Yes what he did was sketchy but it needed to be done for the good of the people. My country had been ravaged by the gangs for decades. I lived in El Salvador up until my teenage years and as a teenager who was raised to do the right thing by my parents you’d be scared because any moment the gangs could force a young kid to join just for the safety of their families. All of those politicians were all talk and nothing ever got done. Human Rights Watch can say whatever they want but what about all the people whose innocent blood was just spilled on the streets? Nobody ever said anything then. Entire families just murdered because the gangs just wanted it to do it. Bukele can be criticized because of the way he’s doing it but every Salvadoran lives in peace without the fear of just going outside and enjoying life.
I understand why the fears exist from those who rightfully see the actions as problematic, but they seem to also be either oblivious to the past or indifferent to it. I am certain that he has done things that I dislike happening, however I am uncertain of what alternative actions could be taken to produce the same result. I am open to the arguments of those who complain if they will then also attach their suggestion for how the same thing could be done better.
@@danmorgan712 that's exactly the rethoric Putin and his supporters had for years. Look what it has come to. Total control of all three branches of government and tolerance of human rights violations is a very, very dangerous mix that builds dictatorships. Changing the constitution to be the President again and then again, and then again in a never ending cycle is a very bad sign.
Personally, I am of the opinion that extreme situations sometimes require extreme measures. When the government itself is corrupt, sometimes you have to do things to overthrow it. Your current president was smart enough to be able to do it democratically. He was also smart enough to deal with the issue with gangs in such a way that didn't completely turn into martial law. I look at it very similarly to how the Canadian government under Pierre Trudeau enacted martial law agaijst the FLQ. Such an extreme step was looked at with great hesitation and fear, because not once in modern Canadian history have we ever enacted martial law in peacetime. Even today there is a lot of discussion about whether it was truly necessary. But the results speak the truth: Without those powers, the FLQ would have likely lasted for years. Instead, within a week, it was wiped out as an effective terrorist group. I will say that your leader is the type that I wish more western leaders were willing to do when facing country-crippling issues of the scale El Salvador was dealing with. But at the same time I would also be very careful about what he does once these major issues are dealt with. If he returns the checks and balances, everything is fine. But if he doesn't, or he gets assassinated, his replacement has a open door to dictatorship.
@@TheEDFLegacy if there’s a worry right now is that the US might get involved in some way because they don’t have the best relationship as of right now… El Salvador and China have actually developed a closer relationship. Not long ago was announced that China was building a new soccer stadium for El Salvador as a gift and they’re also building other things in our country.
Has voting for a powermad despot ever ended well? Italy got the trains running on time in the 30s. Ten years later the country was destroyed by war. It's never worth it to give up your authority over your own life.
look at Haiti. Same exact issue, the government however has become too weak and corrupt to stop the gangs. Vigilante behaviour is common and recently even gang members got cremated alive .
The images of the gang members in prison clothing forced to destroy the gang monuments of their graveyards did it for me. The man delivered the strong message: no freedom, no honor, no memory for the gangs. I hope this can be maintained.
This "no memory for the gangs" is the reason I hard dropped Netflix for Escobar alone, I both absolutely refuse to watch stuff that glorifies crime AND get said criminals paid, in the case seems the Escobar estate is still owed rights to it. Any "based on real facts" stuff about criminal acts should be forced into public domain to avoid "I got away for decades then got book and movie deals out of it" situations
@@Jhairus polite reminder that there’s currently no freedom for ANYONE. Not just the gangs. No human rights, nothing. Countless stories of torture in his mega-prisons. Just another maniacal autocrat leading an ignorant population to slaughter. Read a history book
Nobel, but yes. Even as a Norwegian who is used to Democracy working well I fully agree with the president. It s no other logical options when people are being terrorized.
I was born in El Salvador but fortunately my parents brought me to the US before the gang issues intensified. My mom has many aunts and nieces in El Salvador and my grandmother spends 2-3 months of the year in her hometown of San Vicente, El Salvador. MULTIPLE times my family in ES were robbed, beaten and taxed by the controlling gangs. My grandmother would have to call and ask the gang leaders to allow her to enter the neighborhood safely (after paying yet another tax) whenever she landed in El Salvador. President Bukele’s measures may be drastic but they were needed. He entered office and not only liberated the country from the terrorist gangs, he’s going after the corrupt politicians that made those “agreements” with them. He’s going after politicians who have a 30,000 salary but somehow because multimillionaires in office. He’s going after the parties that stole 265 million dollars in 20 years of power. He’s represents the people, he represents change and development in the country. Emigration levels are at an ALL TIME LOW for El Salvador. Citizens and children have access to healthcare & education that they’ve never had under and president in the history of the republic. The man is a blessing to a country that desperately needed one
@@DameOfDiamondssaying that to someone that has already built their life in the us is stupid, i’m guessing you are a white american so why not go back to england
My family moved from El Salvador when the civil war was going on. This man has been the best thing that has happened to El Salvador in a long time. He has been doing things that have improved the country. El Salvador is quickly becoming a great country again. He has legitimate aspirations for the country. The majority of the people support him because they can see all the good things.
All well and good until a bad version of Bukele comes in the future, and theres a precedent already set where you can apparenty just remove the whole supreme court if they disagree with you and walk armed pol;ice into parliament to get what you want. If you have a benevolent leader like Bukele its great, but if its a bad one your FKED and the country goes back down the shitter
I mean good luck but your putting all your eggs in one basket,. if that basket ever turns on you youll be senht back to the stone age, thats what im worried about
I not sure if you know what it’s like to live in fear of gangsters, I’m thinking probably not. I can tell you one thing. The people in El Salvador are happier today then they were before.
The craziest part is, all of this was homegrown. Outside of providing loans here and there, all of this came from local politicians and law enforcement. Decades of people calling for large western nations to intervene in poor nations to “fix them” have done little to aid a laundry list of countries and then El Salvador just woke up one day and decided to start fixing its issues at break neck pace almost completely by itself.
Yeah but does that mean you should ignore all the bad that came with it? If other countries helped then El Salvadore wouldn't need to surrender it's democracy.
I just came back from visiting El Salvador. And while I was only there for a few days, my first impression was impactful in a beautiful way. I’m very impressed with the turn around this little Nation has made, and I’m seriously considering making El Salvador my home in retirement.
When my husband and I met, he would tell me about how hard it was in ES, that his friends were dying, that his sister has been robbed… For them to now feel that their country is safe, that they can live and breath in their home. Even if it doesn’t last he gave the people a new life.
As salvadorean, Bukele is the best thing that has ever happened to our country, he has saved so many lives, hes given hope and we can finally say we are proud to be Salvadoreans, we are literaly the safest country in the entire american continent and its a FACT
Cheering on dictators who promise easy solutions to complex problems and trampling over people in attempts to “solve” said problem has literally never worked out
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Dictatorship worked out very well for Singapore. Not all dictatorships are created equal. Most will fail, like Somalia. Some will succeed though.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 not all dictators are bad. Some are super progressive and do the best for their nation. lee kuan yew, Deng Xiaoping changed their country's future for forever.
My family is from El Salvador. I think it is safe to say that if it wasn’t for Bukele and the things he did for El Salvador, the country would be in a far worse spot. For the first time can people walk the streets they’ve been so scared to walk. When I would go visit back home people would be in their houses by 7pm streets were empty. Now you see families out and about at night, it’s beautiful. People in developed first world countries live that luxury everyday not knowing how good they have it. The Salvadoran people have been deprived of this for too long. It was about time a true leader took action. I don’t know where Bukele will take El Salvador but what I do know is that he is a man of God and he truly cares about the people of El Salvador and wants the best for them.
Thats great and all. But he won’t be able to stay in office forever. All the checks and balances have been removed in order to carry out these reforms. What if his successor doesn’t care as much as he does or doesn’t do as good a job?
@@infidelheretic923 It's a risk worth taking 30 years under Mara Salvatrucha aka MS13 Endless murders and gang violence in the streets daily and becoming the murder capital of the world , to civil life and people able to live safely its a big mental shift and was needed, criminals never respect human rights, sometimes society needs a hard reset to fix broken values. Fighting fire with fire is needed and a tradeoff the people themselves wanted.
How is the economy? The human development index? Poverty and the failing cryptocurrency? Your country kicked the rats out of the house but forgot the roaches.
I have to congratulate the Wendover team here. They really built up an unbiased perspective of the Salvadorian situation. Introducing the topic from its origin. Taking the Salvadorian people will and the international view, from a rational and even psycological perspective. And even editing the video (that is an art by definition) on a way that you don't feel attracted to either side. A long time ago, I had to discuss about this topic on a dinner. I really wish I had this video before.
I fled for my life from El Salvador in the 80s from Civil War. I have never been able to return and now I am excited to go back to see my country for the first time in almost 30 years.
@@craterus5249 I think being the country with the most murders in the world is good enough you don’t need opinions from the people to know the fucking answer of what they’ve endure
As a Salvadoran, thank you for covering this. I am very happy with how far my country has come since the Civil War. I was born 13 years after it, but my grandpa is still heavily scarred for life . God bless El Salvador 🇸🇻
@rorypaul153 Yes, worse than hell under a ruthless thoughtless gang that kills people for literally just looking in their direction. They should of just done nothing and kept everything the same. Said every coward that ever existed
@@rorypaul153are you a citizen of El Salvador. No right? Then keep your head out of it. Actually I am also not a citizen of El Salvador, that's the reason I didn't command people and condemn then for making decision for their benefit
I have asked every Salvadorian person i know about this situation and they have experience the differenced and are very happy with how this is all turning out for el Salvador. A sense of relief on their voices. So happy for El Salvador.
@@anthonycruz1122 Last time I checked, the people of 1930 Germany really liked their leader too. Short term returns give him the right to destroy constitutional rights and torture the population in prison?
I am a Salvadoran that has lived in the states since i was 8. I have a lot of family there. As a first grader there I experienced a bombing near my school. The panic caused 5 children and 2 adult to die at the school,. (1-8th grade) I remember how scary it was and vividly remember squeezing through bodies of older kids to get to the fence of the school to climb over it. My uncle was at Archbishop Romero funeral in the capital. I saw people coming into the neighborhood with blood on their clothing and bullets in the arms and legs. My uncle escaped by going into a manhole that people were diving into. I am just skimming the surface on the things I experienced. And that is before it got “bad”. Most of my mom’s siblings are here but one. He has been struggling and we do what we can to help with the situation. But when you have to give gang members a portion of your paycheck just to be able to walk into your home or they beat you up that says something about the state of a nation. When my cousins were afraid of going to school because gang members would jump you just for going to school…? Yeah critics can sit in the safety of their homes and criticize as much as they want but until you are in the same situation you really cant judge. I can’t either because my experience is so small compared to what people there suffered and what my family went through and still struggle through. Because though now the country is relatively safe, Jobs were lost, malnutrition still left lingering effects, thousands still suffer from trauma and lives were lost to name a few. I hope that though this president has made an impressive impact on the nation, he does not become a dictator and still holds the values of a democratic nation.
I know a few individuals from El Salvador myself here in CA. They work as milkers at the same place I go to every Monday/Tuesday for work, and they all love Bukele. I actually think it's quite funny considering how much the mainstream press hates the man. There does seem like a real disconnect between what day to day reality is like in El Salvador, and the articles people write for publications like the Economist, the Atlantic etc.
The cowards criticizing him don't understand what real violence is like. Their idea of conflict is an argument on twitter. Bukele controls all branches of government and is essentially a dictator, but this is what the country needed in order to heal.
I'm going to judge him because he shows the signs of an up and coming tyrannical dictator. History has shown, time and time again, that this is how you do it. He might be working for you right now, but what happens when you thank him and retire him? How long before he starts calling you a gang member and suspending your rights to justice just to be thrown in prison. Safety is important, but you've sacrificed your liberties for security. It's only a matter of time before he takes both from you and your family. Just read up on other Latinoamerican countries and their run with dictators. I wish the best for you and your community. Don't take this information as an insult.
I would've liked it if you mentionted that tattoos typically mean you've already committed a Crime in El Salvador. Its very common for gang members to tattoo themselves for every crime that they committed, with face tattoos meant to scare people to let everyone know that they'll kill anyone without remorse. I feel that without this fact, its implying that tattoos aren't a dangerous signifier in El Salvador, or that its culturally equivalent to how American tattoos are utilized
There is a difference between regular tattoos and gang tattoos, not everyone who has a tattoo is a gangster. One of the government officials even mentioned that he had tattoos.
@@V.E.R.O. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. But in El Salvador people did not just get a tattoo because it was dangerous. DONT ASSUME the freedom was the same as other countries. The ones who had tattoos would cover them up. NOW everyone can do it and the police will check to see if they are gang tattoos. If not, then you wont have a problem.
@@V.E.R.O. Special Caveat: His mention of tattoos was in reference to gang-affiliated tattoos. You should have granted him the grace of not taking his claim to hold such simplemindedness. 😊😉This information on gang cultures and their customs is quite ubiquitous on the internet.
That dude clearly had a tattoo from the alien movie "Arrival". Any body that just thought for 2 seconds would realize this guy is probably a nerd not a gang member
As a salvadoran, I'm glad you talked about this, and personally I think those criminals deserve no more liberty; my uncle was murdered by them. Nayib isn't the best president and I don't even consider him as a good one. But I have to admit that Bukele solved this decades long problem in a very realistic way. The situation with crime was horrible, we were even more dangerous than countries at war, like Syria. And this was the only way to solve it, with "Mano Dura", because you can't talk with them, you can't convince them, and I dont think yhe majority of them could even be redeemable Those gangs were born in the streets of Los Angeles and when they got deported, they found a place here in a very hurt country to keep jodiendo. I'm not sure what will happen with El Salvador in the future if Bukele gets re elected, but i'm happy to see my people feeling secure, recovering thier bussinesses, taking a huge breath of so many years of blood and violence, and I hope things will get better in time. Thank you Sam, you make such a great content.
As a guy from the Philippines, crime has lessened recently but it's still bad especially from corrupt officials. Do the majority of your people from El Salvador support Bukele and his efforts? Or is it more split? I understand the need for due process but for countries like ours sometimes any action is better than trying to be morally right.
ELECTION, LUL. You're talking about a guy that put soldiers in a Parliamentary assembly to intimate the parliamentarians into passing a bill. Good luck with him leaving his seat if he will be voted out.
You can’t compare places like ElSalvador to larger mixed countries like the US. There’s 5 million people there, and they’re all the same race, religion and culture. It’s like a gigantic family that will have a general opinion and movement. It’s nice to criticize from the outside but they’re obviously happy with Daddy Bukele and sometimes the baddies need a spanking! Everyone with a 13 or 18 on them to jail! The dummy tattoo loving gangsters did it to themselves🤷🏻♂️
@@firstperson7602GMAILindeed, though he is different in that he has actually focused on doing things that help his people, rather than helping himself to the people. It is also slightly hopeful in that he is still largely acting in line with what the voters want him to accomplish - clean up the gang problem, improve their lives, change the corrupt system... But he also has gained basically dictator level powers while doing so, and I can't help but wonder if one day he'll start to help himself to the people, while holding them at gunpoint, using that loyal police and military...
As a Salvadoran-American born in the early 80s, all I've ever known of El Salvador are the horrors of the Civil War that my parents lived through and the constant gang violence that succeeded it. I remember going to the country back in '88 and lights going out at my aunts house because the war was till raging and the guerillas had bombed the city's electricity. All that to say that throughout my lifetime, the country has always been a country of violence. However, now that Bukele has taken office and has begun to modernize the country and make it safe for it's citizens, I've begun to hear good things of El Salvador from my family, which is wonderful! My dad has been singing Bukele's praises since he first took office. He actually drained the swamp. Therefore, if the majority of the people want to reelect him, and he continues to actually care for the people, then I say go for it. How the hell could our corrupt American politicians even have the gall to denounce a president who is so loved by the people and who has actually cared for his country.
because he's an example of how much better things can be when someone genuinely cares for the wellbeing of the people instead of just pretending they care, so it shows how much american politicians could be doing but arent doing and they dont want to be seen in such a way.
Wouldn't you agree that what El Salvador has done is replacing gang violence with state violence? since they can imprison everyone without a real mandate... Or you just think that the benefits outweight the negatives? ? I think what el salvador accomplished is really awsome, but given that the cost for this success was to give an excessive amout of power to the police, couldn't it be said that what El Salvador really did was to just trade gang violence with state violence? Or is the feel to know that you can safely walk down the streets totally worth trading for a state that is respectful of it0s own constitution? I would like to know your opinion on that.
@@XxXgabbO95XxX I think this analysis of state funded violence is a bit flawed in that there is no violence to the regular citizenry. The only "violence" was to put in jail gangsters who were literally oppressing the vast majority of Salvadorans who were just trying to make a living. Bukele has improved education, health care, and overall safety. The country was a nightmare and mess prior to him, now it is moving in a better direction. Just like in the US, if you follow the law, then you have no fear of the police. (and no, cops aren't hunting minorities). Bukele wants to provide a good future to Salvadorans, something that the FMLN, who in my dad's generation fought the government to instill economic equality actually stole millions of dollars from its own populace. From what I know, the Salvadoran constitution does not allow for consecutive terms, but I think Bukele found a loop hole in that if he steps down for six months he is lawfully allowed to run again. Besides, what do people usually have to choose against? A leader who rusn the country to the ground and steals as much money as possible for one term, or a leader who betters the country and wants to continue to do so for one more term. I doubt he'll run again after the second term. Even in the US, FDR ran and won four consecutive terms, which also was illegal. But it was the Great Depression and WWII, thus, he got a pass. I don't know what the best answer is, but if the people who actually live there like him and vote for him, then they should be allowed to have the leader they want.
If the leader is morally corrupt it doesn’t matter whether it’s gang or state police, the people will suffer. In most cases, however, gang leaders are mostly corrupt while those who work in states vary in differing degrees. At least in a state system, there are rules and laws which sets punishments, has a justice system, and has a form of elected governance set by the people. Gangs usually are groups that aren’t elected by the people nor do they provide benefits to the society as a whole in general. Usually it’s quite the opposite because they degrade it.
I’m at minute 20 and still on his side. They already tried everything to stop the gangs but nothing worked. Sometimes you have to use drastic measures to combat an otherwise unsolvable problem. As long as he doesn’t start to abuse his power for personal gain this guy is a hero.
"As long as he doesn’t start to abuse his power for personal gain this guy is a hero." Aaaaaaaaaand what would guarantee for something like that to never become reality... I woooooonder...... mhhhhh.....
@@XxXgabbO95XxX a system that didn’t work to solve all their other problems. I’m not saying get rid of democracy everywhere. I’m saying it seems to have been the right decision for them.
We´ll have to see long term. Right now he´s buying time, that giant mrison is practically an enormous holding cell, growing hatred and pulling innocents into gangs or making them radical againts the gouvernement. Also, in the time these prisoners are locked up, he needs to make sure conditions become good enough so people in poverty can get decent living conditions, instead of having to turn to crime. Additionally those incarsurated will need to be given opertunities as not to return to crime once leaving the prisons, something the prison doesnt seem build to do. Lastly, of course, he´ll need to find a way to balance all of that, with keeping the nations budget under controle. It has to come from somewhere and loans arent limitless. So we´ll see. Maybe Bukele makes a miracle happen, reforms salvador, makes it a good place to live, keeps crime out of its streets, keeps international crime from invading this vacuum and keeps the nation from running out of money. But if all of that doesnt work out, then the situation will likely deteriorate again. Plus of course, Bukele still is essentially the dicdator, so who knows what trajectory he´ll take in the future. Lots of progressive leaders that "do what must" show themselves as powerhungry tyrants that keep the peace with censure, populism and violence down the line.
@Rizal To be honest? Even if he suddenly became a Vladimir Putin, its still a significant upgrade to what they had going on before, this dictatorship no matter which direction it steers has already improved the lives of people there
This is something a lot of people in the west don't (or don't want to understand). These major gangs are so violent and so powerful that you cannot treat them like normal criminals. You can't even begin to better the country while they run rampant, so you have you deal with them in such a way that they cannot act. Which Bukele did.
Except you don’t know history. About Barrio 18: “In the late 90s, beginning in El Salvador, the governments began passing more stringent laws that criminalized mere “association” with gangs. These so-called “mano dura,” or “iron fist,” policies only encouraged the gangs’ growth by concentrating many members in prison, pushing them to reorganize and regroup. In Central America, the space created for extortion rackets and kidnapping gangs by weak police forces and a relatively open criminal landscape was filled in part by the Barrio 18 and the MS13 in the 2000s.”
@@bayersbluebayoubioweapon8477 “by weak police forces and a relatively open criminal landscape” Bukele massively funded the military and police force, and enacted an extremely loose law that let them put full use of that funding. The dynamic shifts, bukele holds all the power now. Mano dura policies failed because by the time it was enacted the gangs held more power.
Yeap, they get to think about this from an abstract, removed and privileged position, then call it 'cold, objective and rational'. It's insulting, and lacking self awareness.
@Michael my whole family is pretty middle class, I believe it when people are afraid of the police, but I think it is more a problem with the poor who dont have much of a voice and live in slummy villages. But I do not have the perspective to really say. I think what is happening is extremely complex and I do not know what to think right now.
@Michael The issue of kings and dictators has always been a double edged sword. On the one hand, aa benevolent, good king can quickly change the country for the better. Far more than a democratic system could. The price for that is stability. When the good king dies, if the next king is bad the country's screwed. The checks and balances that the old king dismantled are no longer there to limit how much damage a bad ruler can do in a short time. Removing them will take bloodshed. I absolutely understand why Salvador's people took that deal, they were dying in the streets, but I worry for the next generation.
How is it extremely "balanced and neutral"? Some quotes "journalists are hard pressed to find a single person in the town in the town he became mayor at have a bad thing to say about him" ? Seriously in real life there is always some people who have something bad to say about you even Jesus himself? Also in another part they quote the numbers for murders in the town provided by the mayors campaign. How is that not a biased source?
@@TheGrumbliestPuppy - well put. It's nice and all for "your guy" to swing a big hammer, but folks forget that they've now handed over Big Hammer usage to whomever is able and willing to slit the most throats to get that power. Sure sounds like Bukele = Machiavelli
National issues need to be dealt by their national governments, be it a mistake in hindsight or not. I hope that such draconian measures become as effective as it seems, and that the nation heals and becomes a democratic country once things are fixed.
@@FineWine-v4.0kinda reminds of Argentina when they elected Juan Perón. He was very popular by the working class in the beginning of his presidency and then he eventually became dictator and was overthrown. Hopefully this doesn’t happen in El Salvador
Back in 2017 I left my country El Salvador by the grace of God the u.s been helping me a lot and I never thought my country can change the way it is in less 10 years God bless you Bukele and keep going forward 👍🏻
As a Mexican I am in full support of the Salvadoran president. It is a country that has been forgotten for years! And now when someone is finally doing something people are criticizing and condemning for trying to improve his nation and get rid of all the ignorance and violence.
He’s doing good, but he’s making his seat in to a dictatorship, so even if he’s a saint the future presidents can take that brand new seat with dictatorship powers and use the same police that took out the gang members on them. It was a trade off that needed to be done but in the future it can be even worst in the wrong hands, but like I said it was basically a terrorist dictatorship by the gangs already, so, it’s not like the people had a better option.
@@EnveeH2 Yes, but this wouldn't work in bigger countries without a real war. He's lucky El Salvador is a small nation, and is up against gang member instead of cartels. Good for El Salvador though, they deserve the peace.
My parents left El Salvador 30+ years ago and they’ve said, among other things, that the gang violence was a big reason why they left. It’s only recently that they’ve begun making plans to return indefinitely once they’ve made enough to retire and I’m positive that it’s because of Bukele’s changes. Sure, to the world at large his tactics may seem cruel, but theres no denying that they have improved the living situation for many
This kinda reminds me of an Ancient Rome. In times of extreme emergency, the Senate of Roman Empire had the authority to appoint a dictator. The dictator was granted extraordinary powers and could make decisions without the usual checks and balances of the republican system. However, it's important to note that the appointment of a dictator was considered a temporary measure and was meant to be a limited-term office. One of the most famous examples of a dictator in ancient Rome was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. According to historical accounts, in 458 BC, Rome faced a severe crisis due to military threats from neighboring tribes. Cincinnatus was appointed as dictator to address the crisis. He successfully organized and led the Roman army to victory, and after just 16 days, he resigned from the dictatorship and returned to his previous life as a farmer.
Ah, this is interesting. Cause most of Democracy is modelled after how the Romans used to govern, but nobody ever talks about the ability to appoint temporary dictators during times of crisis. It would certainly solve a lot of issues associated with trying to get 200 plus people to agree on how to tackle a certain debatable topic. Just appoint a temporary dictator. He makes the decision and we follow it no questions asked PERIOD. You may like it, you may hate it, but that's the decision we decided and that's how we are going to take on the crisis. Once the crisis is over, back to the normal flow.
The problem, of course, is that many prospective dictators would be trying to extend their terms, for example by making sure the problem is not actually solved, extending a war, etc.
But you see friend societies grow and the man that you speak of was not chosen by the people but a handpicked appointment by the Roman Senate to address a problem everyone knew they were incapable of handling and with the added caveat that they intended to wash their hands clean of all decisions and lay all the blame on everything that went wrong upon him even though in the limited amount of time he took the position he was not privy to all the ways in which the Senate had failed at addressing the state’s problems.
The problem about being a small nation is that oftentimes the problem can’t be solved in a week even if the legislative actually works for one week out of the year since how external players are is a huge input in the nation’s decision making process. Only if the big regional players are experiencing a plague, internal conflict or economic collapse can the decisions made a small country that faces no obstructionism can truly come to fruition as there are less resources being used to support ungovernability in their small nation in these instances.
@@TrainerAQ You could say "temporary dictators" still exist in some capacity today, albeit pretty much exclusively in (semi-)parliamentary systems where otherwise largely representative presidents appoint the head of government. Of course things are much more regulated nowadays, but if the president demands the parliament to follow suit, they might as well. One example I can think of is Italy actually, with prime minister Mario Draghi. The previous government broke down during the height of Covid (Italian governments tend to generally be quite unstable btw. due to many different political parties) and the president called for a National unity government under economist and former president of the European Central Bank Draghi. Apart from handling Covid he was also brought in to fix economic problems, last year though some major parties withdrew their support and a reelection was called. The current Slovakian government is actually entirely picked by the president, too, as the ruling coalition broke down just a few days ago and multiple ministers resigned without replacement. If they secure the confidence of the parliament, the cabinet might rule relatively unopposed, at least until the next election, especially since they have the backing of the president. Additionally, it's the former prime minister who asked fher to assemble a "cabinet of experts".
Sam, I’m proud of how you tackled this. This is the most fair and balanced exploration of Bukele I’ve ever seen. It ignores nothing, and explores the really hard questions. Well. Freaking. Done.
Im 16 years old I was born and Raised in El salvador till 2014, i experienced shoot outs since i was a baby, i lost my uncle to gang violence, i lost my friends who were also kids no older than 10 due to shoot outs, i lost family i lost neighbors, we were forced to flee the country by these gang members or we were gonna die. I was no older than 8… seeing how my country has changed brings sm tears of happiness. I do hate seeing how some people get to visit but im stuck in another country since i am still undocumented. Even tho my country was dangerous, it was beautiful. and i miss it everyday. and i miss my family i havent seen them in almost a decade . hopefully one day i’ll be able to experience the peace my president has achieved🇸🇻🫶🏻💓😊
The problem isn’t giving this much power to the government. It’s whether or not they’re willing to give it back. I hope it all works out for the citizens of El Salvador.
@@williamkerwin9543 the government needs to make sure the future peace sticks, so that when new leaders come, it just doesn’t come back, with new experience in how to deal with them
Reminds me of all the American citizens liberties stolen with no hope of restoration. They've eliminated any independent analysis of their crimes during their ongoing "lockdown". This is the NewNormal.
Agree, they will need to right the checks and balances, and have contingency plans incase something happens to him. Cause if they don't then he'll can easily break loose
It's impossible to overstate how spot on this video was about the situation here in El Salvador. Very objective, as unbiased as it could have been, extremely well researched and put together.
I find that world bank loan very suspicious. The elite choose when countries prosper or suffer. Im glad for the ppl but there is something bigger at play here.
I had the privilege to visit El Salvador over spring break. This was an awesome experience as I had family telling me that not long ago, the streets would be empty after 7, or that nobody wanted to leave home before 8am in the city. Funnily enough, tourism is increasing to El Salvador, and it’s a BEAUTIFUL country, so it should be as much of a tourist destination as Belize!
I visited El Salvador solo in 2016 for 2 weeks. Memories of men holding guns in front of nearly every shop (to protect these shops), tasty street food, lovely beaches and good people. Yes, there was crime but I was never personally affected.
I am currently visiting my family from my dads side I grew up in the suburbs with my dad making it successful out of El Salvador into America it’s eye opening to see El Salvador I respect my father way more after seeing how he grew up
I would still say, it was dangerous and there is other solutions. Not to mention you putting a big chunk of the country population in prison. Alot of those did not want to do crime. You need alot of power to show and try to inforce the government laws but at sametime this is too much. A better solution is to make your own gangs backup by the government and send those gangsters money and try make them snich on eachothers. Play gang maifa game and the government representatives become top maifa and gang leaders and dismantle it from inside from the top and middle. When strong make few strong moves. At sametime make alternatives and opportunities duch as free cheep courses and other support in education and advice them. Tell them to change. The big fishs are not going to listen this but all the goblins are going to leave. You can use your imagination about the rest. Then later on any reminders few years later to be sinped and declare war on them. Then ,after the small war win and any reminder big group dismantled, arrest the rest. So instead of 50k+ we would be talking about 5k if not less. What government did was more than bold and potentially dangerous. Because if this was USA or Iraq the gangs would have made a revolution and turns country into like Syria.
I’m Salvadoran-American, born and raised in the US, and since early childhood, I’ve heard horrible stories from my family members who lived in there. One of them was about how gang members would take over buses filled with people, lock the doors so they couldn’t escape, and then lighting it up in fire, murdering the people inside. I’ve had some family members that I unfortunately never got the chance to meet because they were killed by gang members. Because of the lack of safety, education, and economic opportunity, my family moved. But I’m really glad that there’s finally a president who stepped up and actually did his job. A lot of my family members are coming back to ES either to visit or stay there permanently, and they say how they feel so much safer and happier. I really hope this continues, it has always been my dream that El Salvador becomes prosperous and safe, and I really do think that dream will happen.
Good comment, just one thing i notice. You are american not just by being born in the US but because your family is from El Salvador which is in the American continent as well.
@@edwingarcia2256and quit with that nonsense about America being more than the USA. You know good and well there is no other country referred to as America than the USA.
@@Mudnuriyou are absolutely right, theres no other country referred to as america… however, there is this pretty big landmass, often referred to as a continent, hope youve heard of it, that people do also call america.
I am at loss for words. My heart is affected by this here balanced video because I was born in this tiny, long tormented country decades ago and even though I never had the experience of living there, my loved ones did and endured the decades before this change ! That is, however, the past which has all but left us. All I wish to state is that reading some of these comments that are full of praise is of the greatest heartfelt joy for me personally! On the other hand, the catastrophising commenters who , just like the condescending and patronising UN, have the audacity to make wild and flippant remarks about a country that now finally has a leader that, through great integrity, has raised the profile of his people, is beyond my comprehension!! All I will say is that I feel blessed to have lived long enough to see the day that the world isn’t looking down on this beautiful humble country. God bless El Salvador and this awe inspiring president!
Bukele is a fascinating guy. How he managed to take control of a democratic country from total obscurity in a decade should be written in the history books.
@@Manx123 Putin can't even release real statistics about how his people are suffering. Not to mention he's thrown 3 million of his people into a meat grinder over the past few years because he needs more land. 😂
I visit El Salvador every month, and I can say the country is unrecognizable, before people couldnt even enter neighborhoods after 8PM since the gang members would not allow it or would even kill anybody who dare to do so, public buildings were mostly rottened down, business would close doors due to extorsions, people were afraid and nobody trusted anybody. Now you can check your phone on the streets, walk at night, wear jewelry, small business are popping everywhere, that was unthinkable a year ago, even people that never liked Bukele in the begining are changing their minds toward him. All Central American countries take him as a role model, he is not extremely popular in his country, he is extremely popular in the whole region.
Beautifully said at the end of the video. It's their country, they chose him out of necessity. The people have spoken and enough is enough. Let them have their peace.
no man you dont get it the american mongrels on twitter dont like their beloved gangsters being treated the way they treat civilains therefore it is wrong
@@YuukiZ2023 you don't care about human rights. you didn't care about the people who had to live there before the clean up.
7 หลายเดือนก่อน +8
"If it is a mistake, it is their mistake to make" What a perfect line. Brazilian here, and all my love and hopes to El Salvador. ❤🇧🇷 You are your own masters - do what you have to do, and tell the international community to shove it.
as an el salvadorean, my mom would always tell me horror stories of how people could get robbed just for carrying money on the streets and anything of value, it was brutal and there was plenty of gang violence, it was like the cartels were a ruthless shadow government. after the crackdown, everything is peaceful and alot better
@@billbauer9795To actually solve a problem of that magnitude, even cultural, you have to hit hard, tragically there will be innocent people in the crossroads but what is the other option, leaving criminals to live freely for the worth of keeping some regular civilians unharmed or stopping it all with some harmed civilians? This is why theres so much wrong in the world because we think as the first option, we must calculate and act because you will as a true politician who changes culture, hit someone on accident.
I’ve been going to El Salvador all my life to visit my parent’s family and my husband’s family and for vacations. I just came back this weekend and I can say this was the first time ever in 48 years where I have gone and never once in these past 2 weeks was I scared for my or my family’s safety. Great feeling! Go El Salvador 🇸🇻!
@@AlexP-jz9sgnot really since it will lose the internet freedom it already had for data centers and anonymous offshore bank accounts and shell corporations. Which is what Singapore is actually well known and profits well for.
the funny thing is that Singapore did this 50-60 years ago and look where the country is now. the removal of gangs and triads was one of the earliest steps in the country's developmental progress. the various external unions which are against this guy cleaning up his country need to look at other examples where something similar has worked, not by using their vastly different historical, societal and cultural backgrounds and incorrectly deeming his method to be unjustified.
You are spot on with Singapore.I mentioned this as a replay to a user comment that was criticizer for Bukele taking absolute power.Let him take the power, and bring order - there are only 2 ways - people will praise him or overthrow him.
@@princeigorash Honestly a benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government but there's no way to ensure that the next dictator will be as good. If he isn't the entire nation suffers. Look at Rome for example. But some sort of system to allow the election of a dictator given a crisis would be great, again like how they had in Rome with the Senatus consultum ultimum
@@HappyGick Unless at the end of the current dictators term he implements extreme reforms, the next one would use the same loopholes and laws to make himself a dictator as well
I am a Vietnam veteran and must tell you that during operations there are sometimes collateral damages and that is how one might view the arrests of those who are not gang members. It is unfortunate, but sometimes the end does justify the means and this appears to be an example of that. Best of luck to all of us!
As a Salvadoran myself, I really appreciate how neutral, balanced and objective this video was. Thank you! All viewpoints both negative and positive were considered. While there was definitely more detail that you could have gone into for certain points, I understand that for this type of video there is only so much time that can be spent on any one point or topic. Congrats on a great introductory expose on the current state of Salvadoran politics.
its not neutral and unbalanced, i've watched wendy for a long time and he's proficient in logistics not politics, he sounds like a mediocre reddit commentator here you can hear the passive aggressive condescending tone, he doesn't even realize that he's doing it inadvertently "dictator" and hundred other judgements and explanations are just being blurted out about what systems are why they are and what they should be isn't even thought about properly here
@@ydid687 I agree with this, he does little to justify why Bukele may be using this 'dictator' approach. It paints a picture of extremism when the most important question (at least for me) is what the reasoning behind these decisions are. That goes unanswered and dismissed as dictatorship through his inadvertent remarks. Still a very interesting video
Let me clarify two things. Gangs had a 18 or MS tattoo that only they could have, as if you had it, and you were seen with it by the other gang, your life would be a risk, not to say that if by accident you were in a town from the other gang you would be 100% dead. I remember having a shirt with a 18 number in the middle (nothing related to gangs, it was just the name of the commerce) and I was advised to get ride of it as I could get in troubles.
The same to me in San Francisco I was wearing a not a T-shirt but I didn't call that like a sweater. It was red and my godmother says you're not Going Out with this thing. Are you? She made me take it out or take it off whatever
I’m From the USA, and I respect this man more than any American politician. He had the guts to actually stop the gangs, who are basically terror organizations. He cracked down on the extortion that was crippling the economy. I have high hopes for our friends in El Salvador.
He also demolished the foundation for a longterm successfull future. Without checks and balances their is no protection from corruption anymore. Even if he is a saint and uncorruptable, he will die someday and his successor wont be. By the way, what happens when he looses popular support? Do you really think he will step down or chance his mind? Looking at his past actions I dont think so.
The biggest terror organizations are governments......corrupt policies by corrupt politicians like in the US are killing far more people than gangs do...
As a Honduran, I'd say most Hondurans are kind of wishing El Salvador would take over Honduras under Bukele's rule, and maybe even bring back the Central American Republic
I’m a Salvadorian too and I think this is highly unlikely. El Salvador just isn’t Russia. It’s nice though to think or even imagine of the Republic of Central America. So many videos with comments about how our neighboring countries or even in South America, how they want Bukele over there to be president.
Honduras AND Nicaragua (especially) need reforms of this magnitude ... But Bukele's way is not sustainable. These countries need to run themselves more like Costa Rica ...
I love your closing sentence of it being THEIR mistake to make. They're a country with full autonomy and they should be allowed to make decisions for themselves. I'm happy to see how far El Salvador has come, but I'm hoping it doesn't spill into a dictator regime, but I'm somewhat confident it won't
The problem is usually if a country is truly making a mistake by giving all of their power to the government. They can’t undo that mistake in the modern era. The government and its forces will simply be too powerful for the people to take their lives back. It would be a mistake that could never be undone. That’s how dictators work. Dictators are usually only able to be overthrown by foreign intervention in the modern era.
What democracy has given to Latin America?? A pile of thugs, looters, gangsters, killers, narcos, thieves, criminals, fraudsters etc. Democracy has failed totally, and it is a failed system.
what do you mean? He suspended the constitution indefinitely and he is just locking up people he doesn't like. If an American president did that here you and everybody would call me an evil dictator.
@@gotworc indeed it’s so sad how many socialist presidents and leaders of labor parties never got the chance to see or enact actual change in their countries, president allende always comes to mind because he actually pushed change and got it thru but Pinochet and the cia funding got to him before he could do something as radical as changing the flag💀
A benevolent dictator is theoretically the best form of gouvernment. Unfortunately power always corrupts so we'll see how this works out longterm. There are very few cases where dictators gave back their powers and a lot of cases where they didn't...
As a salvadorean I find this very interesting, because I never could explain to myself: how a small country like mine could have a lot of problems when there’s city’s that are bigger in size and they are pretty all right.
@@zweks na, has nothing to do with colonialism XD thats just a very weak argument, el salvador has been independent for over 200 years, if its shitty its their fault, the change is real, saying that all american cointinent problems are a consequence of colonialism is just weak, sure it left countries with an identity struggle, but its not valid, other american countries really kept up with the advance so its not a solid argument
The "developed countries" will never understand that this is the only way to save 3rd world countries. Hats off to Mr Bukele, I wish Brasil had someone with the same courage.
It might be the only way but the thing is that this way also works in 20% of the cases at best (when the guy amassing such power is nice enough to step down eventually and not pass on his powers to his cronies, kids or party successors), and the remaining 80% are the cases where the situation spirals out of control and results in another civil war or outright demotion of the 3rd world country to the 4rd world status 😅
This is a truly outstanding display of good journalism. There is the good, the bad, the ugly, and the multiple sides of analysis of these. This was really great work Wendover.
he didn’t cover the perspective of the vegetables in the city of el salvador and as a vegan i find it objectionable that we live in such a carnivoristic society where people have to eat their own family. shame on you.
Him calling the emergency congressional hearing and having the military surround the lawmakers was definitely a power move. Kinda smart but also very dangerous
Sometimes in Politics you gotta play rough. Cause everytime the opposing party is always gonna go "You're NOT my president!" and then stop doing anything productive to help the nation just make the holding President look bad.
@@houssedecouette4056 and the problem is that, by throwing checks and balances out the window, if HE fails, then there is no way for someone else to do what he has: come in and make the necessary radical changes to fix the problem.
Generally speaking the military and police is often bought and paid for by foreign interests or old money in developing countries and the legislative body tends to be the primary tool to get that done. It’s quite an exception to get principled men in these institutions willing to support the national executive over the foreign owned legislative body but if it sticks around for a generation you can see huge changes for the better as neither local elites nor foreign interests are able to get away with the same things unless they work towards ensuring economic collapse and inaction when it comes to security or social concerns.
The issue is that he needs to establish himself as an exception and not the precedent; someday he will leave office, and if every following president thinks they can run the country as a dictator, then it is inevitable that the country will collapse, therefore he needs to leave the presidency with the government reestablished in a manner that prevents others from using the very loopholes he himself exploited.
There have been some countries that seemed have to developed democratic and indepentent institutions that have made some countries prosper. Like the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the undemocratic but prosperous Singapore. Although, I'm not sure what made them different from other dictatorships. It could be geography.
I think as long as the "dictator" is chosen democratically. Then using the same loopholes when necessary will not be st El Salvador demise. As long as the people have the power to choose their leaders and their leaders are competent. Then the country will be in safe hands.
Much still needs to be done and while this generation of criminals is still around there can be no step back in the actions that have had to be taken to reduce violence otherwise it could be undone in one weekend under a weaker and more globalist leader who is incapable of making the necessary calls.
@@Harry-yr4tm the problem is, if you hold power of all three branches of power, you can essentially write into law that you're forever god emperor. that you're allowed to bypass votes, or change votes etc. you're really gambling and putting all your trust in one person to not become sick with power and seize it all to themselves forever
Both of my parents are from El Salvador, they fled their home country during the start of the civil war. Hearing their stories of the war is harrowing. My dad described bodies littering the streets from both gangs and the military. And most unfortunate, civilians ended up getting involved because both of the former groups targeted them, questioning their affiliations. Many decades later, my parents learned about Bukele, my dad criticized him often, but my mom likes him to the point she even finds him quite handsome. It gives me confidence that one day, if my mom gets deported after her green card expires, she'll come home to a more peaceful and beautiful country. It also gives me hope that one day I won't be afraid of traveling there and that I won't have to worry about gang violence. Bukele may not be a saint, but he's done more than anyone before him has done. He has proven himself as someone who fights for his people, no matter the costs. I hope that he can console the country and turn it into a place everyone would stop looking down upon.
There's two sides to each coin. It brings me joy to see that the majority of people are happy. But I have a sister who was shot in my mothers home for having a tattoo. The military raided the wrong house and destroyed my moms house. She spent years paying for it and they took it from her and almost took my sisters life. They also incarcerated my cousin for having a tattoo right after his kid was born. It's one extreme to another. If they are going to arrest in mass and build a massive prison. They need to have the resources to atleast process claims and separate the legit gang members and people who just happened to have tattoos or be at the wrong place. As well as compensate those people whose lives they have ruined by accident.
@@phillipmartinez2436 In US, we don't have a dictatorship (at least not on the surface). But our police are always raiding the wrong house and shooting unarmed people. Mostly due to incompetence or sometimes racism. If police raid a house by mistake or use a house as a strategic post to handle a hostage situation, the homeowner pays for the damage. Qualified immunity protects our police from liability if they damage someone's home unjustly. Yes, a few lucky people have managed to sue the police and win. Like Brianna Taylor's mom. But the odds of winning a lawsuit against the cops are slim to none. If the police unjustly damage our homes or cars, we are not entitled to compensation. And we're a first world democracy. In theory
@@-.a9942 yeah, I know, my mom has renewed her green card over and over again over the years. I'm just unsure she will want to go through the process again without my dad since he recently passed away. She's currently 63 and we're unsure how my dad's death (he was naturalized) could affect her status. The reason why I worry is because she has been meaning to no longer renew it and just to get citizenship, but she hasn't taken any of the necessary steps to become a citizen, so I'm unsure of what her game plan is now.
@@phillipmartinez2436if this took years, that may have happened before Bukele’s state of exception. Was this under Sanchez Cerén? I remember before Bukele there were lots of extrajudicial killings by elements of the police who were sick and tired of gangsters going through the rotating door of the justice system. Since Bukele started his mandate, no opposition media has reported that type of incidents. The pandilleros control over the territory for almost 30 years was a true dictatorship, which breached many human rights including the right to life, to free transit, to freedom of speech, to freedom of association, freedom of commerce and the right to enjoy the fruits of one’s labour. Bukele’s measures was just and necessary. We could not solve the problems that arose under the old system with the tools in that system. By the way, I am sorry for your sister. Something similar happened to us in the 80s when death squads came to our place. It was the wrong address. Very traumatic.
I'm from Argentina, most of the people here agrees that Bukele government is controversial but clearly effective. When things works well nobody can deny that the ends justify the means.
I’m glad El Salvador has been on a path to improvement. But I also understand the concern from external watchers. As a South Korean, I can’t help but feel a little suspicious of Bukele’s suspension of constitutional rights. I mention my nationality because SK owes a lot of its economic progress to Park Chung-hee, a former general who took power via coup and later consolidated it via popular election. Most foreigners do not know that he held power in 3 phases-1st as the leader of a coup (1961-63), 2nd as a popularly elected president (1963-1972), and the 3rd as a self-installed dictator(1972-1979). Following the coup, national elections were held in 1963, which historians generally agree that they were not rigged. Park won 46.64% of the votes while the opposite candidate won 45.09%. Throughout his 3-term presidency, Park promised reforms, stamping out corruption, growing the economy, and building a stronger national defense against North Korea (which was, at the time, richer and was better armed). While it was never a true democracy, he did deliver on these fronts. His economic policies that grew the manufacturing sector set the basis for SK’s super-growth from the 70s to the 80s. But, he was also quick to ignore basic rights citing counter-communist activities as a reason. Anyone suspected of being a North Korean spy or even a sympathizer were quick to disappear. Just like El Salvador, both the fear and threat were/are real. But at the same time, it is nonetheless a slippery slope. Then in 1972, SK slipped off that slope. Park proclaimed the “October Yushin,” a new constitution for a new republic in Korea. It dissolved political activities and parties, effectively went from ignoring basic rights to deleting them from the constitution, and dismantled the staple checks-and-balances system of a democratic government. Politicians were arrested and exiled with zero impunity. Books were banned, many universities closed either temporarily or indefinitely, and students discussing ‘revisionist’ ideas were branded communist and soon disappeared, only to be discovered dead or delirious due to abuses such as water torture. Only when Park was assassinated by his intelligence chief, did the Yushin era end. Then again, whatever semblance of a democracy we had in Korea before Park was in such shambles that another dictator took power in 1980. This one, Chun, began his regime by openly massacring protesters and a citizen’s militia on May 18 1980 for protesting the coup. Only in 1987 were popular elections and democracy reinstated following nationwide protests in June. Goodwill should never, and cannot be depended upon as a barrier towards dictatorship. Bukele deserves the praise for his policy’s successes in bringing about a safer El Salvador. At the same time, it would do the citizens well to understand that this is an extremely slippery slope. I just hope that Bukele is the hero El Salvador deserves, that he will democratically transfer power once his mission and terms are complete.
Hmmmm very interesting… I suspect the El Salvadorian president was following Lee Kuan Yew, a potential more successful and positive proponent of that model.. As long as he can keep his ego in check El Salvador will be fine.
“I can’t help but feel a little suspicious of Bukele’s suspension of constitutional rights.” - IMO, reading on the modern history of El Salvador would be helpful. The 1972 elections could be a good starting point for the events that led to the (formally) 13 years of the Civil War. Don't miss the context of the Cold War: both the US and the Soviets meddled into the conflict heavy-handedly. The paramilitary gangs never disappeared since, and never stopped their operations, although they have no longer been as steeped in ideology-if they ever have. Violence never really ended since. I, like you, very much hope for a peaceful transition to democracy. It's a small but very cohesive country, with few if any divisive issues: everything the people want is safety, infrastructure and jobs. It seems the first time, historically, when it's really possible. It hardly was with the two old parties, both rooted in the conflict of the old-hardly ideological anymore, but still very backward-looking, as if still mentally in the Civil War. Like, who cares about water supply and literacy at wartime. And it's not that they didn't care about their pockets, tho. Corruption is another riddle to solve.
Its a slippery slope if the guy on top doenst know how to play his cards right. You see in order for a nation to move forward and develop it needs to be united. For that to happen at least a majority of it has to think and act alike aka there should not be a fragmented society. For example such as ,,you are social democrat and i am a conservative" no no those should be eliminated as concepts, who we are as people matter. The reason why nothing can get done in our modern time is because people spend most of their time argueing and fighting each other over the dumbest of things while those on top just watch and fuel the flames. So in order to not happen everybody needs to be aligned politicaly and culturally to a singular concept, entity and leader. Next step in ensuring the system would NOT fail us to set up checks and balances that do NOT restrict the person at the top from taking some important decisions. Then there is the whole system of governance that has to be created along with its own culture. Where in a more monarchic way a successor can be chosen by the current ruler and approved by the parlament. Look at the soviet union look at china. One of them collapsed for mere economic reasons, while the other is still standing. Democracy is not just putting a piece of paper in a box. It about doing whats in the interest od the nation and the people.
The great Allan Watts has a quote that says "The road to hell is paved by good intentions". Kudos to the man for bringing on order, but power corrupts even good people, with good intentions. His story is not any different from other strongman, popular dictators. The guy essentially made himself the system, that's essentially a a recipe for disaster. The fact that he has essentially changed the constitution so he can run again, doesn't see anyone fit to run but himself should have people worried, he has destroyed corrupt systems, built a new one to serve him instead of rehabilitation of the system to serve everyone equally and have checks and balances. That place is essentially sitted on a time bomb.
As a Salvadoran, i deeply appreciate how neutral and unbiased this video was! Something i'd like to add, is that Bukele not only has control of all 3 branches of the government, but also other institutions. And even though us Salvadorans feel safer than ever, the police and military forces remain being corrupted institutions that just follow the government commands, as they always have been. With the dictatorship period and the civil war, Salvadorans grew up with the idea that fear is power and security justifies losing your liberty, so that explains a lot of the approval Bukele and his methods have.
he's a corrupt tyrant and good luck getting them out of power now the day they become unpopular from sticking their corrupt hands into the cookie jar to enrich themselves. Nothing good at all comes from being above the law and facing 0 accountability.
I appreciate the president too. I remember how violent it was when I was little. My mom got robbed a gun point several times when I was very young and they eve threatened to take me. Im glad they threw all these criminal dirt bags in jail rot until theyre no longer in this world.
“Condemned by everyone in the business of condemning” Genius. Reflects perfectly that sometimes there aren’t good solutions but different levels of bad and save face avoiding criticism by the “professional critics” could be one of the most costly in human lives and misery. Perhaps the critics should be accountable for that no matter the good intentions as everything has consequences.
Technically Bukele didn’t solve the problem, he postponed it Now the problem is in prison, but unless they stay there until they die, theses people have to come out at some point You need a process to reintegrate them into society without spiralling back into gang violence Since theses people were arrested outside of due process, it is very hard to tell who is innocent and who isn’t You also have a new problem : the police isn’t going to let go of their arbitrary right easily, how do you go back to a civil society from that ?
@@Taletad "You need a process to reintegrate them into society" I don't think that they should be reintegrated into society, they gave up on that option by causing so many acts of violence. Policies of reintegration into society destroyed my country.
@@Taletad Exactly. What about them? How many other innocent lives one of them is worth? I know, I wouldn’t want to be there unjustly accused, but neither I wouldn’t want my family (and me) dead by free roaming criminals. The easy way is always to wash our hands if we can avoid the problem because we are rich or don’t live there. But our “clean conscience” has a steep price in blood 🤷🏻♂️. I am not saying it is right or wrong, just lest costly in lives first and well being and future after. It is a sacrifice Bukele is doing for its people because no matter what, he is going to pay. It is how it works.
@@hetoverseo3887Yeah tbh if someone tats a fat 13 and devil horns all over their Face I’d say that’s a big indicator not to let them back into society easily.
Really hard to pass judgement on, but it is truly a perfect representation of how a nation may be able to increase overall productivity while disregarding nuance while having a dictator. And still somehow the dynamic creates a positive relationship.
@@Mr.Legend_Speaks As someone who had an almost dictator, the only thing I can say is that he could have done it with the democratic institutions in tact. Duterte did the same with drugs, many died who should have not. Easy to say if yor family was not a victim of the state sponsored terrorism.
The fact that the UN, human rights groups, and mainstream media hate him, tells you everything you need to know about these organizations and their agenda.
Yes, it means they are concerned that the idea that you can just remove corruption by removing and killing corrupt people, often just leads to other corrupt people taking their place, which makes sense, if understand the conditions that causes corruption and crimes in the first place. But of course, you don't.
@@dolorousjohn5499no, but anyone who has studied history knows that this is how it turns out most of the time. People are praying Bukele is the exception not the rule.
Nah, they're just thinking at a different scale. Dismantling those checks and balances is expedient, but it is *dangerous*. What happens if the next guy is greedy or incompetent? Is it more dangerous than the risks taken by leaving them intact but slowing things down? That's for Salvadorans to decide. But pretending they're not taking a gamble helps no one.
Those organizations can only point the finger to other countries to criticize while they have bigger skeletons in their closet. It's what made people wake up that most of these institutions are not created to help people and countries but to 'keep the in check' aka control them.
So much of what happened seems extremely concerning, especially the court packing he did. But if I lived in El Salvador, I’d probably like him too. I can’t imagine being unable to feel safe in my own home.
It’s still unsafe, my fam went there recently and there was someone always with a gun being vigilant - not safe community imo. You can go about your day but honestly real change starts when education, workforce opportunity, investment get better - not holding the country by the throat for every step they take, it doesn’t last forever
@@jherc12990 Opportunity and education is important but opportunity can’t come without enough of a stable business climate, and that requires rule of law to reign to a reasonable degree.
In fairness America has packed it's courts with psychotic right wingers that have been rubber stamping right wing laws. It just took a few decades not a few months. America needs to do something about it's supreme court cause it's a short term problem and a long term problem.
@@CreepahKillahRSA yeah, but it seems everyone is clouded by Bukele making the country safer when in reality safety is just bliss if you have to have people being vigilant all the time. I understand what’s trying to be accomplished but there should be plans already in place to make education and opportunity better - those are mutual goals, both safety and opportunity. Doesn’t even necessarily have to come from foreign investment, it should start internally. What’s the point of going to college in El Salvador if you can only make between 10 to 15k annually?
I remember what a historian said about Julius Caesar, "Julius Caesar was a dictator, but he became a dictator when the Roman Republic needed a leader. Sometimes to get something done, you need absolute power to achieve that." I feel the same way after watching this video. Sure, not every country agrees with Bukele way of dealing with violence and limiting democratic values, however, El Salvador was in deep shit for democracy to achieve any solution.
You know how every Roman emperor ended after? Extremely corrupted, power hungry, or just killed by the pretorians, only very few managed to have peace, no man should be given so much power because it will corrupt them, coming from a country who had a leader (Chavez) that was charismatic and that had a paradigm shift of politics, it seems to paint the same story as Bukele just in another country, while what he is doing seems to look amazing there is something off, I just hope he doesn't repeat the same mistakes as Venezuela giving a man too much power.
@@nimzodorf oh the other hand we have US, where your votes count towards a corrupt, power hungry candidate or the other corrupt, power hungry candidate. And they have less powers than the Senators!
I’ve known many refugees from El Salvador in the past. One little boy, 12yrs old, was the only survivor when his entire village was murdered by MS 13. I am absolutely positive every of them supports the current president. I’m truly happy the situation has improved. And you are right. It’s their country. I can only speak for mine, and we don’t have such a great track record of “helping” in other countries politics.
My brother in law is Salvadoran and my family is Mexican. We all love and admire Bukele my sister and brother-in-law especially. My brother left his country and remembered it as a dangerous place that he never wanted to return to or even think of taking my sister to but they have finally gone to visit his home country and I’m so happy for them. I hope someday Mexico will take notes and finally have some change. I hope the US and UN will mind its own business and instead worry about its own citizens because we are the saddest joke to a first world country these years.
I have family in El Salvador. Some family members were detained because of suspicions of being associated with gangs. They were not gang members but they hung out with them. However, the majority of my family have more opportunities. The schools, parks, libraries, and neighborhoods are safe. They have told me crime is very minimal. People don’t try stupid things because they know they will disappear and rot in jail. People are starting new businesses because gangs can’t exploit them. I have not heard from my family members who were detained. Quite frankly, no one has heard from them. It sucks but they should have not associated with gangs. You can see the difference since gangs have been exiled.
I'm from El Salvador in the old days the gangs covered them self with tattoos I went to El Salvador soon After getting out of the Army when useless fmln president Ceren was in office and it was miserable the streets were ran by gangs but later to infiltrate the El Salvadoran and Police 🚨 the gangs stopped tattooing themselves but they were gang members I went in 2014 fresh out the Army after ten years it really irritated me and made my blood boil to see inocent people die just because local businesses didn't want to pay the gang leader rent, or if you lived on one block you could not go to another rival gangs block otherwise you did not came out alive, they raped,killed, kidnapped, get caught and since they had made a deal with the politicians arena and fmln they had a rule that if a gang member killed someone one and if After 3 days there was no witness technically the judge had to release him or the gangs payed off the corrupt judges and since the gangs ran the town no one dared to be a witness or you would end up dead so to make it short the politicians and the gangs ran the whole country.. And by the way I was a US Army infantry man I got airborne and crossed rifles tattoos and units that I served tattoos and I walked in the beach with out a shirt they only look for gangs related tattoos.
Oh by the way in small country and small towns every one knows everyone's business so these person relatives are not in jail in vain the police and military had dat and info on all this gangs they went in and out of jail but they paid of the corrupt judges and the politicians made a deal with both big gangs to run the country in exchange for their vote that's why both corrupt party's keep winning that's why they are worried because Bukele trew their voters in jail Bukele did not wanted to negotiate with them. And they would steal millions son after they would retire...well now they can't steal millions any more.
@@JonJon-kx6xl absolutely idiots can hang out with gang members or not specially, if that’s all that’s in their neighborhood or that was a lifestyle or culture. That being said, I’m not shitting here that they got locked up because they decided to associate with gang members
I’m South African and we are also ‘privileged’ with a high murder and crime rate and I fully sympathise with the El Salvadorans here. People who live in safe countries have no idea how mentally taxing it is to be constantly worrying about your safety and the safety of your friends and family whilst gangsters and criminals run rampant. If we had someone similar to Bukele I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.
I enjoy this video because it shows both side and doesn’t feel like is pushing an agenda. I am Salvadorian and honestly looking at how international coverage looks at El Salvador it is very clear that they have an agenda. The majority of El Salvador population is happy right now, I have visited and felt extremely safe
I have a friend from elsalvador. he said that before going outside at night is death sentence. now people goes outside at night now without being worried about gangs lutking in every corner. he said that economically its wonderful and for the population its a blessing
I'm salvadoran so I will leave my two cents here. I experienced my first shoot out when I was 5 years old. I have lost people to gang violence, both family and classmates. A big chunk of my family and childhood friends had to leave the country. My generation grew up surrounded by an obscene amount of violence. Everyday you would read in the newspapers that 15-30 people were murdered by gangs in a country that's the size of Delaware.
However, since Bukele took office: My family's small business has stopped paying protection money, the gangmembers who collected it have all been sent to jail or shot down by cops. Also, most family members have come back and are trying to make a living with the newfound peace we are enjoying. It's not much, but at least it's BETTER than the hell we were living in before. I'm not here to convince anyone about anything. Just wanted to state facts that I, as a salvadoran citizen, have experienced. Take it as you will.
I'm very happy to hear that life is getting better there!
It's something people who haven't lived through it will not understand, fire has to be fought with fire, you can't negotiate with gangs that don't operate under the law.
Congratulations on your beautiful country new found peace! I hope for you and for county new economic opportunities to follow as well!
@@mwat22 You mean like the government?
I hope it continues to get better for you all
Another Salvadorean here, when you have been robbed on the street at gun point or with a knife to your ribs for DECADES, when you knew people killed by gangmembers (in my case former co-workers), when you could not visit your family out of fear due to heavy gang presence. Having Bukele as president and actually seeing the results It feels like an unreal victory for the good people. Really like something I would not see in my lifetime. You have to be insane to want to go back to the hell we were before.
Filthy, ignorant, American scum here- was wondering if there's any particular reason behind massive gangs in the region. I understand the existence of gang *members* in such quantity, but the sheer size and scale of gangs is mind-boggling to me. Isn't there in-fighting? Why haven't they broken into several smaller gangs? If you don't have any idea, that's okay. I know not every person in a place knows everything about that place. I'd just like to understand a bit more.
And for a lighter topic: What's your favorite local dessert?
Although I do agree with your points about how Bukele made the country peaceful again, his powerful grip on the government is scary imo. I live in algeria, where we had a president that brought peace to our country after a decade of terror attacks done by rebels. His first term was iconic, as he made the rebels come down the mountains peacefully; while he was doing that, he was slowly taking down committee's who would try and investigate funds he was smuggling and the corruption that was going on around him, his entourrage and the army. The second term was another round of trying to manipulate the info and tell people that his job is not over; it was just another term where he modified the constitution making him eligible to run for another term. The third and fourth one were just where people gave up and stopped caring because of the day to day corruption. I dont want the Salvadorean people go through the same situation we went through. Furthermore, I do hope that Bukele is not like how Bouteflika was.
@@moneyman8735 Thank you for your thoughts and I completely respect your opinion as it's based on experience, Blessings to your contry as well! Only time will tell the outcome, hopefully it will be for the greater good!
Best of luck to you and your family, friends and most important your country. From Texas USA
Although where i live is a lot safer, Canada still has a gang crime problem. Indigenous and black majority gangs in cities are mostly the ones causing a lot of problems crime wise. If we had a Nayib Bukele in office he would be most loved.
I don’t understand how the UN can complain about undeveloped countries and then COMPLAIN more when someone figures out how to fix it
Well said
cause when those countries fail it's the UN that has to send aid.
Facts. Big fat facts.
@@tmore7364 yeah right.. UN dont help really... Just suck up money
There are reasons terms are capped to 4 years etc, this thing can easily lead to a dictator taking power after this guy and ruining all the good he created, through the weakening of the institutions/corruption
I feel like there’s two problems and neither are necessarily with Bukele himself.
1. Who comes after Bukele? He is a rare example of someone who has used his power well. When he either dies or steps down, there will be a large power vacuum. That tends to beget a lot of conflict.
2. People will look at his example and assume that (fill in the blank populist politician) would be able to accomplish something similar with power. This is a risky gamble and probably won’t turn out all that well for any countries that try it.
Bukele is extremely corrupt, he used his power mostly for personal gain.
Say that to Rwanda, that has done it for decades, one of the most prosperous country in Africa
Don’t believe everything the west does politically should be the norm, far from it
Man I hear you. That is the big questions with good leaders. They are few, bold and defiant. Even in the case of Rwanda, Kagame once lamented on who will inherit the country when I am gone. It's best to train from within, normally a close relative, friend or Military personnel who shares the same ideals. Think of the vacum Putin, Xi Jinpin etc will leave when they are gone. How does one prepare for that ?
Great points, but should nothing be done then? Should the people of el salvador be left to suffer more while solutions are being discussed, while people are still making ip their minds? what i think a lot of people are missing is that el salvador was the murder capital of the WORLD, everyday innocent people were dying for no reason, yes he’s one in a million, yes he’s not going to be in power forever, yes innocents have suffered under his rule still, but what was the right way to do it? What was a better way to do it? When was the right time to do it? There’s a lot to be learned still and it will be that way for a long time, but things have changed for the better, im sure he’s well aware of it too.
@@ManuelGonzalez-uy1fl I completely agree, I was just mentioning two potential consequences of his actions. I think if he develops a well-known plan to transition power upon his death/resignation or hand-picks a successor, it would go well.
Bukele is the biggest case study in letting someone cook and them actually cooking.
So you are saying he is not russel wilson 🤔
He cooking fr
Bro fr lowered homicide rates
@@a-ralso while being looking like giga chad
The problem was that everyone needs a president that knows what everybody wants and not what some people want and hes going to sacrifice himself for that because when hes not the president anymore hes going to be in a trial for abusing the criminals do some questionable thing its not like fujimori who did the same with terrorism but in a bad manner and deserve the time in prison bukelele hes what the people will remember as a hero
What a great line: “Bukele has been condemned by just about anybody in the business of condemning"
Same is true for most ( not all ) countries that are blamed for human right violations.....
Right!! lol. The condeming party achieved little in history. Action makes history .
wendover is C.I.A propaganda
💯 al Jazeera, BCC, CNN, UN are all good in that.
@@Bond047 who cares about this human rights BS, he is getting his country together, bringing positive results and changes, protecting his own people and all these "human rights activists" only care about the human rights of criminals lol The problem in the west is we are too scared to be strict and clean things up in fear of being criticized as "unethical" and violating human rights, which is just a new western concept developed in recent decades. Criminals done wrong to people so they don't deserve rights.
In America, cops are seen as evil, they are defunded, criticized of being "brutal" with criminals , delinquents and people who are about to commit crimes and now what has happened? Cops quit, they are defunded, more crime on the streets, criminals run around unpunished so it reinforces them to commit crimes again and again, every single city in America has a rotting city center full of homelessness, drug addicts and criminals.
I'm form El Salvador too, and I'm really impressed at how fairly you spoke about Bukele. It's hard to find anything that doesn't depict him as a saint or a demon. This video made me even tear up a little because of how much our country has gained in safety, but also how much it cost in terms of democracy and wrongful imprisonments. Thankfully no one close to me has been taken but I know people who have relatives they haven't heard of in months. It's horrible, but the improvement in safety is undeniable. I myself have a hard time supporting Bukele due to his blatant disregard of the law, but at the same time I wouldn't want to go back to the way it was before.
Interesting and real perspective. It's nice to see someone like yourself that acknowledges the sacrifices made and not just the good that came from it. I get situations can get so dire, things like this are needed. I just worry what happens when someone less capable or that is corrupted takes his place.
The only problem is that what would happen when the crackdown is lifted or Bukele leaves office? Unless successive politicians down the line continue to place the country under a constant police state, this doesn't really solve the problem of gang violence, not to mention that this would likely create new gangs within his wake. As someone else in the comments pointed out, gangs in El Salvador have operated as protection rackets. Now the police are operating as protection rackets.
How many innocent men and boys are being raped and traumatized by the gang members in his stadium-sized jails? What if it was your son who was randomly picked up by police with no basis or evidence of gang activity? What horrors will happen to the wrongly accused trapped in that hellish prison?
@@Ace-cc1em Absolutely agreed, and that is something I'm personally worried about and that have had to consider when planning for the future with my family. I do feel that at this point police and military personnel that patrol the streets are now the people we fear the most, at least for me and my circle. But it's not as bad as gangs were up until recently. Can't speak for everyone in the country, though.
@@ginwilliams4202 you are very right, but I think unless you have lived through something similar, you can't really understand the other side. How many innocent men, boys, women and girls have to suffer all over the country before we really do something about the violence? How many murders? How many people have to live in fear? How many youths have to be lost to the gangs? How many smal businesses have to close? I don't know a single person, not one, who has a business in a physical space who hasn't had to pay "renta" to the gangs before all this. Gangs we're squeezing money out of everyone, and they killed people who didn't pay up. I personally have many friends who have fled the country due to gang threats. Half my wife's family had to escape where they lived. We're not talking about a number going down. Yes, the cost is measured in lives, but so is the benefit. And no, I'm far from a supporter of Bukele, but I can't just ignore the greatness of both sides.
I just visited El Salvador. I only visited the beach, for surfing. In talking to a friend who lives in the city and others i met, they stated it is amazing to open small businesses now and enjoy life in the city without fear. Everyone i met was awesome. Would love to return
I'm from Mexico, also a crime-ridden state, and I literally cried over hearing that it's possible for a violent country to find peace. Thank you for sharing
We, sí aquí hacemos esto, nunca nos vamos a poder a quitar un presidente así del poder. Igual y les tocó mucha suerte en El Salvador (basándose en info del video) pero creo que la cantidad de control y poder que tiene es súper peligroso en manos de alguien menos noble.
@@jaimea.riverol.3015 igual se vale soñar :(
Incomparable, gang members in el salvador don't have military grade weapons, or military training, cartel has ex military soldiers and mexico is way too massive
@@beam1k just because *this* implementation won't work doesn't mean there isn't one that will. There *is* hope, we just need to work hard enough to find it.
@@GhostyOcean did I say theres not a single on that could work or did I say this specific one wont? Youre making assumptions, I hope for the best too
Brazilian here. Some mayors down here are following the public security Bukele playbook, and it is working.
já que o presidente é um ladrão, resta pros prefeitos mexer uns pauzinhos
I believe Rodrigo Duterte of the philippines who started this kind of system to fight crime.
Brazilian here . This is not true 👎 Brazil it's getting worst when we talk about public security, education and economy.
@@Salvadordaliization Not true for cities which insist on the traditional approach (as Rio, São Paulo) or for cities which are taking on a more "humanized" approach (Salvador, Porto Alegre)
@@eduardomartins3254 where are you from ? Bcuz I'm from Salvador ba and my mom it's from RJ .
Ultra violent cities.
As a Salvadorean this is one of the most fair videos about bukele, they usually praise bukele like a god or they go to the other extreme and think is the devil. Your conclusion is super fair both what bukele has done right and the possible risk of having a dictator. I feel way safe in El Salvador now that gangs have been dismantled, in the past I had to take so many precautions because of the high criminality rates, I lived in fear and that is gone.
However if our own history and the ones from other Latin American countries has taught us, dictators are super volatile, they can start "good" and at any moment they can flip the switch and destroy a country. And bukele has the power to flip the switch since it has destroy all democratic institutions, you mention the supreme court and that is the biggest one but it has destroyed all institutions, he has complete control of the country without having to respond to anyone, we are completely in the dark about the financial state of the country and our debt just as an example.
The only thing I can hope is that bukele stays sane and doesn't do something stupid.
What is your countrymen/woman opinion on executing any identfiable gangmember?
@@christiangoulden4399 I am not sure probably in favor but is hard to know since we are a very religious country, there were some talks in the past but it never came to anything. That said bukele is smart and instead of approving death penalty and the political cost of that, he is executing them silently by putting gang members in infra human situations, I have seen the state of jails in El Salvador ( I am a lawyer) and I am not exaggerating I rather be dead than being on prison, gang members frequently die of a simple infection.
El problema es el futuro. No puedes mantener toda esa gente en la carcel y encarcelando a personas que nisiquiera sabes si son pandilleros, puedes estar creando un reclutamiento masivo a estas. Cuando vuelvan a integrarse socialmente estas personas, van a tener estigmas por ser pandilleros, y su una vía de salida va ser ... efectivamente ser pandilleros. Asi que la solución a corto plazo, (y que no es ninguna solución, ya que cambio "asesinatos" por "bajas" a lo que considera arbitrariamente "pandilleros" y violaciones masivas a los DDHH, o sea tecnicamente cambio crimines comunes por crimenes de estado), finalmente va llevar a tener más violencia en un futuro. Despues de que el estado este desfinanciado con uniformados fuertemente armados, estos mismos van a comernzar a ser el problema, esto sumado de que las pandillas van a ser más grandes gracias a que Bukele los esta uniendo a todos dentro de las carceles. Esto ovbiamente va a llevar a más violencia aun, ya que Bukele no esta solucionando problemas sociales, y esta implementando una dictadura neoliberal. Siendo muy sincero, creo que Bukele a transformado a El Salvador en un pais peligroso a bomba de relojería.
@Jorge Alejandro Rodríguez It is good to know that the gang members are suffering in hell, even if it is on earth.
It’s gonna happen, we are human after All so he’s going to make a mistake, it just matters how bad that mistake is and if he can recover from it
As a Salvadorean I can say I lived the worst moments of my life when I was there in 2008 I was in a bus while 4 gang members of the MS-13 took over and stole everyone in the bus their mobile phones and left everyone without their cell phones I was so scared they had guns and knives I felt terrified
Wow!! Can't imagine. Had heard about gangs but didn't know it was this bad. So happy for your country. The world needs more politicians like Mr Nayib.
I’m an immigration attorney in New York focusing primarily on Asylum cases. Based on what I’ve heard from clients about the gang violence I can understand why the citizens would overwhelmingly follow Bukele.
I'm an American engineer in NJ, and I'm somewhat jealous of El Salvador because their leader is better than our last two leaders. I wish our leader was half as good as theirs.
Why can't we elect a strong leader who knows how to be effective?
Our two front runners are Biden and Trump. It's official. The US people are doing too many drugs
I wish for a world with no freedom, such a place where the concept of crime is nothing but a myth
95% of all crimes is due because of money, get rid of the money system. See how the world changes in an instance. Noone takes anything once we are all dead anywho.
He's far better than what was happening before with the do nothing politicians and often dealing with these ugly situations requires tough solutions. The real test will be what happens after things stabilize and El Salvador is in a good place. Will he tone down more moderate or will he go full Palpatine? The world is yet to see.
Good stick together a great president keep up the good work 🌟💯👈👍🤔
As a small business owner living here, I can say the ambience of the country has changed incredibly. The thing most people would openly and understandbley criticize Bukele about is his questionable decisions with Bitcoin, and also some accusations of corruption and lack of transparency with where some of the government spending goes. Besides that though, pretty much everyone wants him to stay as president. Businesses have been booming and so has foreign investment and tourism. The international community can lambast him as much as they want, but it's worth noting it was an autocrat that made Singapore into what it is today (it's actually something Bukele has vocally stated he wants to emulate). Who's to say El Salvador might not also go down that road in the future.
Hey if he continues to be a good leader doing his best for the people then fantastic, but history has a lot of autocrats that did good in the beginning then turned into monsters.
Tio Bukele 2024!!! Para adelante!!!
The US and UN is scared of him not because he's a dictator. But because he showed his people that fixing a corrupt system can happen. Imaging if the us did that. How many government officials are scared to death of what happened there happing to them.
As long he is constantly being reelected and not a complete dictator. He is the best el salvador can hope for
@@blazer168 thats true. he hasnt been the leader for that long and a lot of autocrats get way worse the longer they are in power. they may now celebrate him for ending gang violence, but what in 10 years, when gang violence hasnt been a problem for some time and the arbitrary arrests havent stopped?
the guy has the chance to still be an overall force of good, but it will heavily depend on whether he can deal with one day not having a 90% approval rating and not having an absolute majority parliament.
I traveled in 2019. Had to pay ms13 to allow me entry to my grandmas house. They were also charging a monthly business fee to allow her to sell bread and make a living. She tells me how every week there was a rival gang member dead in the neighborhood. I just traveled may 2023. No killing. No gang fees. Streets are clean. Economy is flourishing. Can’t blame the ppl for not being blind to positive change. Let’s go EL SALVADOR
He is a modern day Caesar
Your statement on the economy is BS though.
@@maaz322 Exactly. And his opposition, especially those from around the world, are mad and in panic because they hadn't the opportunity to stuff some daggers in his back.
Ceasarian figures are a danger for all those that manage problems instead of solving them.
Wonderful to hear my friend the whole world needs to copy his policy’s
@B. Richard Salas how so, did you see us decades ago
Desperate times call for desoarate measures. This young man seems truly exceptional and a godsend to the country.
Falling for the oldest authoritarian play in the book
@@thedapperdolphin1590 The US is authoritarian unironically as well. They just keep you fat and dumb to do anything. The whole democracy thing is a scam.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 what else you want them to do? They had NO CHOICE. And if it take one man and one party to fix things, then so be it. The will of the people.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Good luck being stabbed if you don't want it
@@thedapperdolphin1590 For an extreme problem, extreme measures had to be taken.
As a Singaporean, yes, sometimes a single "benevolent" leader who's willing to play hard ball and clean up the country will appear, and democratic checks and balances will hold this person back.
Unfortunately such "benevolent" leaders are once in a generation. It's unlikely the successors will be as good as he was. Lee Kwan Yew was a product of his time. Modern Singapore has been incredibly peaceful and made the small ruling elite filthy rich, hardly the ideal environment to produce a leader of LKY's calibre.
Make sure to close up those legal loopholes and reintroduce the checks and balances after use.
Yup I wanted to comment, this is LKY pt2. LKY was notorious, he had the balls of the army, police, courts, parliament, ministers, and the big corporates / infrastructure leaders wrapped up and leashed
But boy did he bring this slum, literally kicked out, into a world power. And then dropped dead at a ripe old age.
Very controversial in his continuous terms and limited freedom and confucious-esque sentiments and crackdown on oppositions
But to most, he did his job.
Honestly, I can't think of many cities that exist where I can live without fear, go down and eat, take a bus or train to literally every public part of the city.
Heck, the fact that I know I can call the police and not expect to be dead or falsely imprisoned, is truly remarkable as a minority. Even with the microaggression and whatnot.
thats because the new leaders betrayed LKY and is now turning singapore into a neo liberal shithole instead of the planned economy based on china.
and slowly Singapore is becoming an American vassal completely different than what LKY imagined the country to be
@@Yadobler china is just a larger singapore lol, theres a fuck ton of propaganda about planned economies to make it look bad, thats why smaller countries are looked at in the west as an interesting experiment in autocracy working, except big countries work to, its just a threat to the west so they spew out propaganda daily.
its the reason why yugoslavia got torn apart.
they are trying to do the same to china now but failing which is why the propaganda is on full force
@@Yadobler Even though I prefer republics, now you see why most nation-states start off as absolute monarchies.
@@Yadobler you are risking the death penalty for the possession of a pound of weed in Singapore, unreal ......
Is more than just the violence that he has fixed. He still prioritizes and has invested heavily in education, while also trying to modernize the country.
If he rules for 20+ years but never invested in education then the country will just fall back.
If he can keep the country running much more safe and efficiently, while also providing much better educational opportunities for the next generation, he can help guarantee a positive future for the country.
Have you actually watched the video or only the title? He said and even started out with this in the video.
@@MrReese actually, the second half of the video doesn't talk about any continuing investment in education, so this comment is helpful to give extra context
Yes! People tend to think policing on its own can solve systemic problems (as many in the USA think). Investing in infrastructure, public health initiatives, and education is the key-not bailouts for multinational corporations, useless global conflicts, or more prisons. The whole point is to crack down on the societal issues that make people commit crime, which is poverty, lack of education, and a lack of opportunities. Imagine if individuals in these communities had educated role models to look up to and not just notorious gang members.
that is why he is treat to these develop nations he is making his people educated look at US they education system is a joke and politics also
These are consistently some of the best documentary episodes on TH-cam
John Oliver’s show “Last Week Tonight” has used video clips from this channel so I’m inclined to agree
Hello, nice to see you here.
Thanks for providing some of the best pieces of internet history. ❤
eyyy it's you
Wait. Locking up criminals works? Who knew!
The true test will come when Bukele is no longer leading. That’s when we will see the actual reliance of this system
As a Salvadoran, I will say that I was skeptical about him since the beginning. However, he won me over the work that he has done and how El Salvador has improved during his presidency. Yes what he did was sketchy but it needed to be done for the good of the people. My country had been ravaged by the gangs for decades. I lived in El Salvador up until my teenage years and as a teenager who was raised to do the right thing by my parents you’d be scared because any moment the gangs could force a young kid to join just for the safety of their families. All of those politicians were all talk and nothing ever got done. Human Rights Watch can say whatever they want but what about all the people whose innocent blood was just spilled on the streets? Nobody ever said anything then. Entire families just murdered because the gangs just wanted it to do it. Bukele can be criticized because of the way he’s doing it but every Salvadoran lives in peace without the fear of just going outside and enjoying life.
Your president is doing an amazing job!
I understand why the fears exist from those who rightfully see the actions as problematic, but they seem to also be either oblivious to the past or indifferent to it. I am certain that he has done things that I dislike happening, however I am uncertain of what alternative actions could be taken to produce the same result. I am open to the arguments of those who complain if they will then also attach their suggestion for how the same thing could be done better.
@@danmorgan712 that's exactly the rethoric Putin and his supporters had for years. Look what it has come to. Total control of all three branches of government and tolerance of human rights violations is a very, very dangerous mix that builds dictatorships. Changing the constitution to be the President again and then again, and then again in a never ending cycle is a very bad sign.
Personally, I am of the opinion that extreme situations sometimes require extreme measures. When the government itself is corrupt, sometimes you have to do things to overthrow it. Your current president was smart enough to be able to do it democratically. He was also smart enough to deal with the issue with gangs in such a way that didn't completely turn into martial law.
I look at it very similarly to how the Canadian government under Pierre Trudeau enacted martial law agaijst the FLQ. Such an extreme step was looked at with great hesitation and fear, because not once in modern Canadian history have we ever enacted martial law in peacetime. Even today there is a lot of discussion about whether it was truly necessary.
But the results speak the truth: Without those powers, the FLQ would have likely lasted for years. Instead, within a week, it was wiped out as an effective terrorist group.
I will say that your leader is the type that I wish more western leaders were willing to do when facing country-crippling issues of the scale El Salvador was dealing with. But at the same time I would also be very careful about what he does once these major issues are dealt with. If he returns the checks and balances, everything is fine. But if he doesn't, or he gets assassinated, his replacement has a open door to dictatorship.
@@TheEDFLegacy if there’s a worry right now is that the US might get involved in some way because they don’t have the best relationship as of right now… El Salvador and China have actually developed a closer relationship. Not long ago was announced that China was building a new soccer stadium for El Salvador as a gift and they’re also building other things in our country.
I hope it ends well. I can totally understand that people would vote for anyone that let them not be murdered in the streets.
Has voting for a powermad despot ever ended well? Italy got the trains running on time in the 30s. Ten years later the country was destroyed by war. It's never worth it to give up your authority over your own life.
@@aluisious idk man, those gangs seemed to be taking a lot of authority over other people's lives before...
In some places the gangs are the only thing protecting you from the cops
@@ctg4818 Yeah right lol
look at Haiti. Same exact issue, the government however has become too weak and corrupt to stop the gangs. Vigilante behaviour is common and recently even gang members got cremated alive .
The images of the gang members in prison clothing forced to destroy the gang monuments of their graveyards did it for me. The man delivered the strong message: no freedom, no honor, no memory for the gangs.
I hope this can be maintained.
timestamp?
@@mattpopovich oh not on this vid, sorry. Search elsewhere. "MS13 graveyard" or something.
This "no memory for the gangs" is the reason I hard dropped Netflix for Escobar alone, I both absolutely refuse to watch stuff that glorifies crime AND get said criminals paid, in the case seems the Escobar estate is still owed rights to it.
Any "based on real facts" stuff about criminal acts should be forced into public domain to avoid "I got away for decades then got book and movie deals out of it" situations
@@Jhairus polite reminder that there’s currently no freedom for ANYONE. Not just the gangs. No human rights, nothing. Countless stories of torture in his mega-prisons. Just another maniacal autocrat leading an ignorant population to slaughter. Read a history book
The only president who has the balls to stand up to criminals to protect his people.He deserves a novel peace award.
Nobel, but yes. Even as a Norwegian who is used to Democracy working well I fully agree with the president. It s no other logical options when people are being terrorized.
I was born in El Salvador but fortunately my parents brought me to the US before the gang issues intensified. My mom has many aunts and nieces in El Salvador and my grandmother spends 2-3 months of the year in her hometown of San Vicente, El Salvador.
MULTIPLE times my family in ES were robbed, beaten and taxed by the controlling gangs. My grandmother would have to call and ask the gang leaders to allow her to enter the neighborhood safely (after paying yet another tax) whenever she landed in El Salvador.
President Bukele’s measures may be drastic but they were needed. He entered office and not only liberated the country from the terrorist gangs, he’s going after the corrupt politicians that made those “agreements” with them. He’s going after politicians who have a 30,000 salary but somehow because multimillionaires in office. He’s going after the parties that stole 265 million dollars in 20 years of power. He’s represents the people, he represents change and development in the country. Emigration levels are at an ALL TIME LOW for El Salvador. Citizens and children have access to healthcare & education that they’ve never had under and president in the history of the republic. The man is a blessing to a country that desperately needed one
Cool, now you can go back 😊
@@DameOfDiamondssaying that to someone that has already built their life in the us is stupid, i’m guessing you are a white american so why not go back to england
Wow!! That sounds crazy!! So glad that things are better there now. Respect from India.
My family moved from El Salvador when the civil war was going on. This man has been the best thing that has happened to El Salvador in a long time. He has been doing things that have improved the country. El Salvador is quickly becoming a great country again. He has legitimate aspirations for the country. The majority of the people support him because they can see all the good things.
All well and good until a bad version of Bukele comes in the future, and theres a precedent already set where you can apparenty just remove the whole supreme court if they disagree with you and walk armed pol;ice into parliament to get what you want. If you have a benevolent leader like Bukele its great, but if its a bad one your FKED and the country goes back down the shitter
I mean good luck but your putting all your eggs in one basket,. if that basket ever turns on you youll be senht back to the stone age, thats what im worried about
@@captainminecraftistyou’re simping for gangsters and criminals. Cease.
I not sure if you know what it’s like to live in fear of gangsters, I’m thinking probably not. I can tell you one thing. The people in El Salvador are happier today then they were before.
Adolf Hitler was pretty popular among the Germans too.
The craziest part is, all of this was homegrown. Outside of providing loans here and there, all of this came from local politicians and law enforcement. Decades of people calling for large western nations to intervene in poor nations to “fix them” have done little to aid a laundry list of countries and then El Salvador just woke up one day and decided to start fixing its issues at break neck pace almost completely by itself.
Ceasar in Rome.
NSDAP in Germany
Nothing here is new. All just repeating history.
Dictatorship has always been the fastest way to solve large scale problems, there's a reason most people are against it though.
@mechupaunhuevon7662 "No it hasn’t" yes it has, "dictators fixinn problems is the exception not the norm" And? That wasn't what he claimed at all.
This just shows you how the real cause of the problems is corruption of the elites.
Yeah but does that mean you should ignore all the bad that came with it? If other countries helped then El Salvadore wouldn't need to surrender it's democracy.
I just came back from visiting El Salvador. And while I was only there for a few days, my first impression was impactful in a beautiful way. I’m very impressed with the turn around this little Nation has made, and I’m seriously considering making El Salvador my home in retirement.
When my husband and I met, he would tell me about how hard it was in ES, that his friends were dying, that his sister has been robbed… For them to now feel that their country is safe, that they can live and breath in their home. Even if it doesn’t last he gave the people a new life.
At least tried. I’d be surprised if he lives to see it get better people don’t like good things.
Except for all the innocent people he killed
@@joseph-vw1wm and the 4.8 innocents killed per day before... let me guess american?
@@joseph-vw1wmwho killed?
@@joseph-vw1wmHow many off those people he kill?
As salvadorean, Bukele is the best thing that has ever happened to our country, he has saved so many lives, hes given hope and we can finally say we are proud to be Salvadoreans, we are literaly the safest country in the entire american continent and its a FACT
👍💯❤
Cheering on dictators who promise easy solutions to complex problems and trampling over people in attempts to “solve” said problem has literally never worked out
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Dictatorship worked out very well for Singapore. Not all dictatorships are created equal. Most will fail, like Somalia. Some will succeed though.
Good luck with having your civil liberties back.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 not all dictators are bad. Some are super progressive and do the best for their nation. lee kuan yew, Deng Xiaoping changed their country's future for forever.
My family is from El Salvador. I think it is safe to say that if it wasn’t for Bukele and the things he did for El Salvador, the country would be in a far worse spot. For the first time can people walk the streets they’ve been so scared to walk. When I would go visit back home people would be in their houses by 7pm streets were empty. Now you see families out and about at night, it’s beautiful. People in developed first world countries live that luxury everyday not knowing how good they have it. The Salvadoran people have been deprived of this for too long. It was about time a true leader took action. I don’t know where Bukele will take El Salvador but what I do know is that he is a man of God and he truly cares about the people of El Salvador and wants the best for them.
Thats great and all.
But he won’t be able to stay in office forever. All the checks and balances have been removed in order to carry out these reforms.
What if his successor doesn’t care as much as he does or doesn’t do as good a job?
@@infidelheretic923 It's a risk worth taking 30 years under Mara Salvatrucha aka MS13 Endless murders and gang violence in the streets daily and becoming the murder capital of the world , to civil life and people able to live safely its a big mental shift and was needed, criminals never respect human rights, sometimes society needs a hard reset to fix broken values. Fighting fire with fire is needed and a tradeoff the people themselves wanted.
@@infidelheretic923
It will not matter. Ppl will be so used to this level of peace that they will fight to keep it
How is the economy? The human development index? Poverty and the failing cryptocurrency? Your country kicked the rats out of the house but forgot the roaches.
Fascism is never the answer and his day will come
I have to congratulate the Wendover team here. They really built up an unbiased perspective of the Salvadorian situation.
Introducing the topic from its origin. Taking the Salvadorian people will and the international view, from a rational and even psycological perspective. And even editing the video (that is an art by definition) on a way that you don't feel attracted to either side.
A long time ago, I had to discuss about this topic on a dinner. I really wish I had this video before.
I fled for my life from El Salvador in the 80s from Civil War. I have never been able to return and now I am excited to go back to see my country for the first time in almost 30 years.
U there already?
my parents are in the same situation :( they want to go too. hopefully you’ve been or are going soon!
Me alegro mucho por usted.
People don't understand the amount of violence these people endure. He is doing a great job
LMAO if you think being a dictator is okay lol
Unless you know what those people have endured your opinion is invalid
@@Playerz714 It actually is, a benevolent dictator is the best form of government. Only solution for the problem they were enduring.
At first but then how does it usually go from past @@gubermon5903
@@craterus5249 I think being the country with the most murders in the world is good enough you don’t need opinions from the people to know the fucking answer of what they’ve endure
As a Salvadoran, thank you for covering this. I am very happy with how far my country has come since the Civil War. I was born 13 years after it, but my grandpa is still heavily scarred for life . God bless El Salvador 🇸🇻
You just gave the president basically all the power, get the wrong guy in, and you will be back in hell.
@@rorypaul153worth it since they were already in hell
@@kingiam9271 promise you that hell under an authoritarian dictator is worse
@rorypaul153 Yes, worse than hell under a ruthless thoughtless gang that kills people for literally just looking in their direction. They should of just done nothing and kept everything the same. Said every coward that ever existed
@@rorypaul153are you a citizen of El Salvador. No right? Then keep your head out of it. Actually I am also not a citizen of El Salvador, that's the reason I didn't command people and condemn then for making decision for their benefit
I have asked every Salvadorian person i know about this situation and they have experience the differenced and are very happy with how this is all turning out for el Salvador. A sense of relief on their voices. So happy for El Salvador.
@@anthonycruz1122 Last time I checked, the people of 1930 Germany really liked their leader too. Short term returns give him the right to destroy constitutional rights and torture the population in prison?
I am a Salvadoran that has lived in the states since i was 8. I have a lot of family there. As a first grader there I experienced a bombing near my school. The panic caused 5 children and 2 adult to die at the school,. (1-8th grade) I remember how scary it was and vividly remember squeezing through bodies of older kids to get to the fence of the school to climb over it. My uncle was at Archbishop Romero funeral in the capital. I saw people coming into the neighborhood with blood on their clothing and bullets in the arms and legs. My uncle escaped by going into a manhole that people were diving into. I am just skimming the surface on the things I experienced. And that is before it got “bad”.
Most of my mom’s siblings are here but one. He has been struggling and we do what we can to help with the situation. But when you have to give gang members a portion of your paycheck just to be able to walk into your home or they beat you up that says something about the state of a nation. When my cousins were afraid of going to school because gang members would jump you just for going to school…?
Yeah critics can sit in the safety of their homes and criticize as much as they want but until you are in the same situation you really cant judge. I can’t either because my experience is so small compared to what people there suffered and what my family went through and still struggle through. Because though now the country is relatively safe, Jobs were lost, malnutrition still left lingering effects, thousands still suffer from trauma and lives were lost to name a few. I hope that though this president has made an impressive impact on the nation, he does not become a dictator and still holds the values of a democratic nation.
Please all please none..no need to please the criminal or killers
I know a few individuals from El Salvador myself here in CA. They work as milkers at the same place I go to every Monday/Tuesday for work, and they all love Bukele. I actually think it's quite funny considering how much the mainstream press hates the man. There does seem like a real disconnect between what day to day reality is like in El Salvador, and the articles people write for publications like the Economist, the Atlantic etc.
Would you say that the vast majority of those who got arrested are criminals?
The cowards criticizing him don't understand what real violence is like. Their idea of conflict is an argument on twitter. Bukele controls all branches of government and is essentially a dictator, but this is what the country needed in order to heal.
I'm going to judge him because he shows the signs of an up and coming tyrannical dictator. History has shown, time and time again, that this is how you do it. He might be working for you right now, but what happens when you thank him and retire him? How long before he starts calling you a gang member and suspending your rights to justice just to be thrown in prison.
Safety is important, but you've sacrificed your liberties for security. It's only a matter of time before he takes both from you and your family.
Just read up on other Latinoamerican countries and their run with dictators.
I wish the best for you and your community. Don't take this information as an insult.
I would've liked it if you mentionted that tattoos typically mean you've already committed a Crime in El Salvador. Its very common for gang members to tattoo themselves for every crime that they committed, with face tattoos meant to scare people to let everyone know that they'll kill anyone without remorse. I feel that without this fact, its implying that tattoos aren't a dangerous signifier in El Salvador, or that its culturally equivalent to how American tattoos are utilized
There is a difference between regular tattoos and gang tattoos, not everyone who has a tattoo is a gangster. One of the government officials even mentioned that he had tattoos.
@@V.E.R.O. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. But in El Salvador people did not just get a tattoo because it was dangerous. DONT ASSUME the freedom was the same as other countries. The ones who had tattoos would cover them up. NOW everyone can do it and the police will check to see if they are gang tattoos. If not, then you wont have a problem.
@@V.E.R.O. Special Caveat: His mention of tattoos was in reference to gang-affiliated tattoos. You should have granted him the grace of not taking his claim to hold such simplemindedness. 😊😉This information on gang cultures and their customs is quite ubiquitous on the internet.
@@njorogeh.muganda6225 🙄 No need to tell me as I'm from there. I clarified for the benefit of anyone who doesn't already know.
That dude clearly had a tattoo from the alien movie "Arrival". Any body that just thought for 2 seconds would realize this guy is probably a nerd not a gang member
As a salvadoran, I'm glad you talked about this, and personally I think those criminals deserve no more liberty; my uncle was murdered by them. Nayib isn't the best president and I don't even consider him as a good one. But I have to admit that Bukele solved this decades long problem in a very realistic way. The situation with crime was horrible, we were even more dangerous than countries at war, like Syria. And this was the only way to solve it, with "Mano Dura", because you can't talk with them, you can't convince them, and I dont think yhe majority of them could even be redeemable Those gangs were born in the streets of Los Angeles and when they got deported, they found a place here in a very hurt country to keep jodiendo. I'm not sure what will happen with El Salvador in the future if Bukele gets re elected, but i'm happy to see my people feeling secure, recovering thier bussinesses, taking a huge breath of so many years of blood and violence, and I hope things will get better in time.
Thank you Sam, you make such a great content.
As a guy from the Philippines, crime has lessened recently but it's still bad especially from corrupt officials. Do the majority of your people from El Salvador support Bukele and his efforts? Or is it more split? I understand the need for due process but for countries like ours sometimes any action is better than trying to be morally right.
ELECTION, LUL. You're talking about a guy that put soldiers in a Parliamentary assembly to intimate the parliamentarians into passing a bill. Good luck with him leaving his seat if he will be voted out.
@@antoniobautista6718 In the video he showed polling numbers with 90-92% of Salvadorans in support.
You can’t compare places like ElSalvador to larger mixed countries like the US. There’s 5 million people there, and they’re all the same race, religion and culture. It’s like a gigantic family that will have a general opinion and movement. It’s nice to criticize from the outside but they’re obviously happy with Daddy Bukele and sometimes the baddies need a spanking! Everyone with a 13 or 18 on them to jail! The dummy tattoo loving gangsters did it to themselves🤷🏻♂️
@@Connor_Herman True, but I'd like to hear a more nuanced and/or authentic response from a Salvadoran.
I’m just worried about what’ll happen after cause he won’t be able to stay in power forever
This guy has been a godsend for the country. approval ratings that high are unheard of. sometimes, drastic action is required to solve drastic issues.
Dictators always have high approval ratings. I wonder why and how? 😂
Stalin had higher, so did: Pol Pot, Hitler, Mao and all three Kim’s.
Starting to see the pattern?
@@firstperson7602GMAIL All of the ones you mentioned either fucked up the country or killed a massive amount of people. Or both.
@@firstperson7602GMAILcry more
@@firstperson7602GMAILindeed, though he is different in that he has actually focused on doing things that help his people, rather than helping himself to the people. It is also slightly hopeful in that he is still largely acting in line with what the voters want him to accomplish - clean up the gang problem, improve their lives, change the corrupt system...
But he also has gained basically dictator level powers while doing so, and I can't help but wonder if one day he'll start to help himself to the people, while holding them at gunpoint, using that loyal police and military...
As a Salvadoran-American born in the early 80s, all I've ever known of El Salvador are the horrors of the Civil War that my parents lived through and the constant gang violence that succeeded it. I remember going to the country back in '88 and lights going out at my aunts house because the war was till raging and the guerillas had bombed the city's electricity. All that to say that throughout my lifetime, the country has always been a country of violence. However, now that Bukele has taken office and has begun to modernize the country and make it safe for it's citizens, I've begun to hear good things of El Salvador from my family, which is wonderful! My dad has been singing Bukele's praises since he first took office. He actually drained the swamp. Therefore, if the majority of the people want to reelect him, and he continues to actually care for the people, then I say go for it. How the hell could our corrupt American politicians even have the gall to denounce a president who is so loved by the people and who has actually cared for his country.
because he's an example of how much better things can be when someone genuinely cares for the wellbeing of the people instead of just pretending they care, so it shows how much american politicians could be doing but arent doing and they dont want to be seen in such a way.
Cause US can’t control him
Wouldn't you agree that what El Salvador has done is replacing gang violence with state violence? since they can imprison everyone without a real mandate... Or you just think that the benefits outweight the negatives? ?
I think what el salvador accomplished is really awsome, but given that the cost for this success was to give an excessive amout of power to the police, couldn't it be said that what El Salvador really did was to just trade gang violence with state violence? Or is the feel to know that you can safely walk down the streets totally worth trading for a state that is respectful of it0s own constitution? I would like to know your opinion on that.
@@XxXgabbO95XxX I think this analysis of state funded violence is a bit flawed in that there is no violence to the regular citizenry. The only "violence" was to put in jail gangsters who were literally oppressing the vast majority of Salvadorans who were just trying to make a living. Bukele has improved education, health care, and overall safety. The country was a nightmare and mess prior to him, now it is moving in a better direction. Just like in the US, if you follow the law, then you have no fear of the police. (and no, cops aren't hunting minorities). Bukele wants to provide a good future to Salvadorans, something that the FMLN, who in my dad's generation fought the government to instill economic equality actually stole millions of dollars from its own populace. From what I know, the Salvadoran constitution does not allow for consecutive terms, but I think Bukele found a loop hole in that if he steps down for six months he is lawfully allowed to run again. Besides, what do people usually have to choose against? A leader who rusn the country to the ground and steals as much money as possible for one term, or a leader who betters the country and wants to continue to do so for one more term. I doubt he'll run again after the second term. Even in the US, FDR ran and won four consecutive terms, which also was illegal. But it was the Great Depression and WWII, thus, he got a pass. I don't know what the best answer is, but if the people who actually live there like him and vote for him, then they should be allowed to have the leader they want.
If the leader is morally corrupt it doesn’t matter whether it’s gang or state police, the people will suffer. In most cases, however, gang leaders are mostly corrupt while those who work in states vary in differing degrees. At least in a state system, there are rules and laws which sets punishments, has a justice system, and has a form of elected governance set by the people. Gangs usually are groups that aren’t elected by the people nor do they provide benefits to the society as a whole in general. Usually it’s quite the opposite because they degrade it.
I’m at minute 20 and still on his side. They already tried everything to stop the gangs but nothing worked. Sometimes you have to use drastic measures to combat an otherwise unsolvable problem. As long as he doesn’t start to abuse his power for personal gain this guy is a hero.
"As long as he doesn’t start to abuse his power for personal gain this guy is a hero."
Aaaaaaaaaand what would guarantee for something like that to never become reality... I woooooonder...... mhhhhh.....
@@XxXgabbO95XxX a system that didn’t work to solve all their other problems. I’m not saying get rid of democracy everywhere. I’m saying it seems to have been the right decision for them.
We´ll have to see long term.
Right now he´s buying time, that giant mrison is practically an enormous holding cell, growing hatred and pulling innocents into gangs or making them radical againts the gouvernement.
Also, in the time these prisoners are locked up, he needs to make sure conditions become good enough so people in poverty can get decent living conditions, instead of having to turn to crime. Additionally those incarsurated will need to be given opertunities as not to return to crime once leaving the prisons, something the prison doesnt seem build to do.
Lastly, of course, he´ll need to find a way to balance all of that, with keeping the nations budget under controle. It has to come from somewhere and loans arent limitless.
So we´ll see. Maybe Bukele makes a miracle happen, reforms salvador, makes it a good place to live, keeps crime out of its streets, keeps international crime from invading this vacuum and keeps the nation from running out of money. But if all of that doesnt work out, then the situation will likely deteriorate again.
Plus of course, Bukele still is essentially the dicdator, so who knows what trajectory he´ll take in the future. Lots of progressive leaders that "do what must" show themselves as powerhungry tyrants that keep the peace with censure, populism and violence down the line.
@Rizal To be honest? Even if he suddenly became a Vladimir Putin, its still a significant upgrade to what they had going on before, this dictatorship no matter which direction it steers has already improved the lives of people there
@@mrnigl1 "Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
What a man, he has single handed changed the country for the better
This is something a lot of people in the west don't (or don't want to understand). These major gangs are so violent and so powerful that you cannot treat them like normal criminals. You can't even begin to better the country while they run rampant, so you have you deal with them in such a way that they cannot act. Which Bukele did.
Except you don’t know history. About Barrio 18:
“In the late 90s, beginning in El Salvador, the governments began passing more stringent laws that criminalized mere “association” with gangs. These so-called “mano dura,” or “iron fist,” policies only encouraged the gangs’ growth by concentrating many members in prison, pushing them to reorganize and regroup. In Central America, the space created for extortion rackets and kidnapping gangs by weak police forces and a relatively open criminal landscape was filled in part by the Barrio 18 and the MS13 in the 2000s.”
@@bayersbluebayoubioweapon8477 “by weak police forces and a relatively open criminal landscape” Bukele massively funded the military and police force, and enacted an extremely loose law that let them put full use of that funding. The dynamic shifts, bukele holds all the power now. Mano dura policies failed because by the time it was enacted the gangs held more power.
You can’t treat them with humanity
Yeap, they get to think about this from an abstract, removed and privileged position, then call it 'cold, objective and rational'. It's insulting, and lacking self awareness.
El Salvador is part of the West you doofus.
As a salvadoran, this was extremely balanced and neutral and really well made!
@Michael my whole family is pretty middle class, I believe it when people are afraid of the police, but I think it is more a problem with the poor who dont have much of a voice and live in slummy villages. But I do not have the perspective to really say. I think what is happening is extremely complex and I do not know what to think right now.
@Michael The issue of kings and dictators has always been a double edged sword. On the one hand, aa benevolent, good king can quickly change the country for the better. Far more than a democratic system could. The price for that is stability. When the good king dies, if the next king is bad the country's screwed. The checks and balances that the old king dismantled are no longer there to limit how much damage a bad ruler can do in a short time. Removing them will take bloodshed. I absolutely understand why Salvador's people took that deal, they were dying in the streets, but I worry for the next generation.
Damn, love your pfp)
How is it extremely "balanced and neutral"?
Some quotes "journalists are hard pressed to find a single person in the town in the town he became mayor at have a bad thing to say about him" ? Seriously in real life there is always some people who have something bad to say about you even Jesus himself?
Also in another part they quote the numbers for murders in the town provided by the mayors campaign. How is that not a biased source?
@@TheGrumbliestPuppy - well put. It's nice and all for "your guy" to swing a big hammer, but folks forget that they've now handed over Big Hammer usage to whomever is able and willing to slit the most throats to get that power. Sure sounds like Bukele = Machiavelli
"Even if it is a mistake it is theirs to make"...very well said...and this applies to every country in the world
National issues need to be dealt by their national governments, be it a mistake in hindsight or not.
I hope that such draconian measures become as effective as it seems, and that the nation heals and becomes a democratic country once things are fixed.
I thought it was some billionaires choice to make.
@@lorenzooliveira1157I see history is not your forte
@@FineWine-v4.0 it’s a naive hope, but the best I can have rn :/
@@FineWine-v4.0kinda reminds of Argentina when they elected Juan Perón. He was very popular by the working class in the beginning of his presidency and then he eventually became dictator and was overthrown. Hopefully this doesn’t happen in El Salvador
Back in 2017 I left my country El Salvador by the grace of God the u.s been helping me a lot and I never thought my country can change the way it is in less 10 years God bless you Bukele and keep going forward 👍🏻
As a Mexican I am in full support of the Salvadoran president. It is a country that has been forgotten for years! And now when someone is finally doing something people are criticizing and condemning for trying to improve his nation and get rid of all the ignorance and violence.
He's taking too many shortcuts. It will not be sustainable.
He’s doing good, but he’s making his seat in to a dictatorship, so even if he’s a saint the future presidents can take that brand new seat with dictatorship powers and use the same police that took out the gang members on them. It was a trade off that needed to be done but in the future it can be even worst in the wrong hands, but like I said it was basically a terrorist dictatorship by the gangs already, so, it’s not like the people had a better option.
Every Latin American country deserves a Bukele.
@@EnveeH2 Yes, but this wouldn't work in bigger countries without a real war. He's lucky El Salvador is a small nation, and is up against gang member instead of cartels. Good for El Salvador though, they deserve the peace.
Bruh like 3/4 states in Mexico have crime rates lesser than Vermont why would they care about the ones who are causing all the trouble 😂
My parents left El Salvador 30+ years ago and they’ve said, among other things, that the gang violence was a big reason why they left. It’s only recently that they’ve begun making plans to return indefinitely once they’ve made enough to retire and I’m positive that it’s because of Bukele’s changes. Sure, to the world at large his tactics may seem cruel, but theres no denying that they have improved the living situation for many
They call it cruel but they have no idea how this group operates I wish the world copy’s his policy’s.
I don’t get why people keep complaining about not showing those in la mara human rights. They lost those the moment they violated others humans rights
Sometimes to fix a problem you need a dictator.
This kinda reminds me of an Ancient Rome.
In times of extreme emergency, the Senate of Roman Empire had the authority to appoint a dictator. The dictator was granted extraordinary powers and could make decisions without the usual checks and balances of the republican system. However, it's important to note that the appointment of a dictator was considered a temporary measure and was meant to be a limited-term office.
One of the most famous examples of a dictator in ancient Rome was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. According to historical accounts, in 458 BC, Rome faced a severe crisis due to military threats from neighboring tribes. Cincinnatus was appointed as dictator to address the crisis. He successfully organized and led the Roman army to victory, and after just 16 days, he resigned from the dictatorship and returned to his previous life as a farmer.
Ah, this is interesting. Cause most of Democracy is modelled after how the Romans used to govern, but nobody ever talks about the ability to appoint temporary dictators during times of crisis. It would certainly solve a lot of issues associated with trying to get 200 plus people to agree on how to tackle a certain debatable topic.
Just appoint a temporary dictator. He makes the decision and we follow it no questions asked PERIOD. You may like it, you may hate it, but that's the decision we decided and that's how we are going to take on the crisis. Once the crisis is over, back to the normal flow.
The problem, of course, is that many prospective dictators would be trying to extend their terms, for example by making sure the problem is not actually solved, extending a war, etc.
But you see friend societies grow and the man that you speak of was not chosen by the people but a handpicked appointment by the Roman Senate to address a problem everyone knew they were incapable of handling and with the added caveat that they intended to wash their hands clean of all decisions and lay all the blame on everything that went wrong upon him even though in the limited amount of time he took the position he was not privy to all the ways in which the Senate had failed at addressing the state’s problems.
The problem about being a small nation is that oftentimes the problem can’t be solved in a week even if the legislative actually works for one week out of the year since how external players are is a huge input in the nation’s decision making process.
Only if the big regional players are experiencing a plague, internal conflict or economic collapse can the decisions made a small country that faces no obstructionism can truly come to fruition as there are less resources being used to support ungovernability in their small nation in these instances.
@@TrainerAQ You could say "temporary dictators" still exist in some capacity today, albeit pretty much exclusively in (semi-)parliamentary systems where otherwise largely representative presidents appoint the head of government. Of course things are much more regulated nowadays, but if the president demands the parliament to follow suit, they might as well. One example I can think of is Italy actually, with prime minister Mario Draghi. The previous government broke down during the height of Covid (Italian governments tend to generally be quite unstable btw. due to many different political parties) and the president called for a National unity government under economist and former president of the European Central Bank Draghi. Apart from handling Covid he was also brought in to fix economic problems, last year though some major parties withdrew their support and a reelection was called.
The current Slovakian government is actually entirely picked by the president, too, as the ruling coalition broke down just a few days ago and multiple ministers resigned without replacement. If they secure the confidence of the parliament, the cabinet might rule relatively unopposed, at least until the next election, especially since they have the backing of the president. Additionally, it's the former prime minister who asked fher to assemble a "cabinet of experts".
Sam, I’m proud of how you tackled this. This is the most fair and balanced exploration of Bukele I’ve ever seen. It ignores nothing, and explores the really hard questions. Well. Freaking. Done.
Im 16 years old I was born and Raised in El salvador till 2014, i experienced shoot outs since i was a baby, i lost my uncle to gang violence, i lost my friends who were also kids no older than 10 due to shoot outs, i lost family i lost neighbors, we were forced to flee the country by these gang members or we were gonna die. I was no older than 8… seeing how my country has changed brings sm tears of happiness. I do hate seeing how
some people get to visit but im stuck in another country since i am still undocumented. Even tho my country was dangerous, it was beautiful. and i miss it everyday. and i miss my family i havent seen them in almost a decade . hopefully one day i’ll be able to experience the peace my president has achieved🇸🇻🫶🏻💓😊
I sincerely hope you get to back home!🙏
@@acanadianfarmgirl2667 Thank you sm 🫶🏻☺️maybe one day it’ll happen i cant lose hope
I’m from Latin America and I’m happy that El Salvador is changing for the better
how exactly did he do it?
@@marvinwilliams7938are you trying to be rude?
The problem isn’t giving this much power to the government. It’s whether or not they’re willing to give it back. I hope it all works out for the citizens of El Salvador.
It's already given back . Gangs are no longer in control.
@@williamkerwin9543 the government needs to make sure the future peace sticks, so that when new leaders come, it just doesn’t come back, with new experience in how to deal with them
Bukele has no more power than the failed communists before him.
Reminds me of all the American citizens liberties stolen with no hope of restoration. They've eliminated any independent analysis of their crimes during their ongoing "lockdown". This is the NewNormal.
Agree, they will need to right the checks and balances, and have contingency plans incase something happens to him. Cause if they don't then he'll can easily break loose
It's impossible to overstate how spot on this video was about the situation here in El Salvador. Very objective, as unbiased as it could have been, extremely well researched and put together.
True.. Most of these documentaries on TH-cam AR hit pieces to try and convert you to an ideology
I find that world bank loan very suspicious. The elite choose when countries prosper or suffer. Im glad for the ppl but there is something bigger at play here.
Yea presenting arguments and points of view from multiple angles.
I feel the same way im showing this to my parents.
Don’t ever be kind to bad people. If you do, eventually you will have to be cruel to good people.
@@alvodin6197agreed
Damn nice quote im saving that
💯
I had the privilege to visit El Salvador over spring break. This was an awesome experience as I had family telling me that not long ago, the streets would be empty after 7, or that nobody wanted to leave home before 8am in the city. Funnily enough, tourism is increasing to El Salvador, and it’s a BEAUTIFUL country, so it should be as much of a tourist destination as Belize!
I visited El Salvador solo in 2016 for 2 weeks. Memories of men holding guns in front of nearly every shop (to protect these shops), tasty street food, lovely beaches and good people. Yes, there was crime but I was never personally affected.
@@johnmguzman7491 nobody ever is until they are
I am currently visiting my family from my dads side I grew up in the suburbs with my dad making it successful out of El Salvador into America it’s eye opening to see El Salvador I respect my father way more after seeing how he grew up
And I never knew El Salvador was this dangerous
@jonpierson559 hi Jon. 🙂Have you visited this county too?
Cant deny that the man is master political strategist and have the balls to execute solutions at all cost.
Truly genius and dark of him to use the owns peoples power and law agains the so called law makers
I would still say, it was dangerous and there is other solutions. Not to mention you putting a big chunk of the country population in prison. Alot of those did not want to do crime. You need alot of power to show and try to inforce the government laws but at sametime this is too much.
A better solution is to make your own gangs backup by the government and send those gangsters money and try make them snich on eachothers. Play gang maifa game and the government representatives become top maifa and gang leaders and dismantle it from inside from the top and middle. When strong make few strong moves. At sametime make alternatives and opportunities duch as free cheep courses and other support in education and advice them. Tell them to change. The big fishs are not going to listen this but all the goblins are going to leave. You can use your imagination about the rest. Then later on any reminders few years later to be sinped and declare war on them. Then ,after the small war win and any reminder big group dismantled, arrest the rest. So instead of 50k+ we would be talking about 5k if not less.
What government did was more than bold and potentially dangerous.
Because if this was USA or Iraq the gangs would have made a revolution and turns country into like Syria.
I’ve heard this all the time with other world leaders with no competence
@@FEMGAY Judging by your name , seems like youve been kissing Leni and Aquino's incompetent liberal a$$ so your opinion is invalid
@@FEMGAY mmhmm sure bro. This one isn’t doing to take over land or to starve their people tho he using it to make a better quality of life.
I’m Salvadoran-American, born and raised in the US, and since early childhood, I’ve heard horrible stories from my family members who lived in there. One of them was about how gang members would take over buses filled with people, lock the doors so they couldn’t escape, and then lighting it up in fire, murdering the people inside. I’ve had some family members that I unfortunately never got the chance to meet because they were killed by gang members. Because of the lack of safety, education, and economic opportunity, my family moved. But I’m really glad that there’s finally a president who stepped up and actually did his job. A lot of my family members are coming back to ES either to visit or stay there permanently, and they say how they feel so much safer and happier. I really hope this continues, it has always been my dream that El Salvador becomes prosperous and safe, and I really do think that dream will happen.
Good comment, just one thing i notice. You are american not just by being born in the US but because your family is from El Salvador which is in the American continent as well.
@@edwingarcia2256Quit lying. You have no clue what you're talking about. If you are born in American soil, you are an American.
@@edwingarcia2256and quit with that nonsense about America being more than the USA. You know good and well there is no other country referred to as America than the USA.
@@Mudnuriyou are absolutely right, theres no other country referred to as america… however, there is this pretty big landmass, often referred to as a continent, hope youve heard of it, that people do also call america.
@@Mudnuri???
I am at loss for words. My heart is affected by this here balanced video because I was born in this tiny, long tormented country decades ago and even though I never had the experience of living there, my loved ones did and endured the decades before this change !
That is, however, the past which has all but left us.
All I wish to state is that reading some of these comments that are full of praise is of the greatest heartfelt joy for me personally!
On the other hand, the catastrophising commenters who , just like the condescending and patronising UN, have the audacity to make wild and flippant remarks about a country that now finally has a leader that, through great integrity, has raised the profile of his people, is beyond my comprehension!!
All I will say is that I feel blessed to have lived long enough to see the day that the world isn’t looking down on this beautiful humble country.
God bless El Salvador and this awe inspiring president!
Bukele is a fascinating guy. How he managed to take control of a democratic country from total obscurity in a decade should be written in the history books.
Meh, much more impressive examples of this exist, e.g., Putin.
He used populism and short term solutions in an country that had an exhausted political class. It's nothing new.
@@Manx123 + hitler, pretty much (although he didn't get VOTED in)
@@Manx123 Putin can't even release real statistics about how his people are suffering. Not to mention he's thrown 3 million of his people into a meat grinder over the past few years because he needs more land. 😂
@@CarlMarxPunk Populism is a term used by individuals that have no structure in their debate . For example marxist..
I visit El Salvador every month, and I can say the country is unrecognizable, before people couldnt even enter neighborhoods after 8PM since the gang members would not allow it or would even kill anybody who dare to do so, public buildings were mostly rottened down, business would close doors due to extorsions, people were afraid and nobody trusted anybody. Now you can check your phone on the streets, walk at night, wear jewelry, small business are popping everywhere, that was unthinkable a year ago, even people that never liked Bukele in the begining are changing their minds toward him. All Central American countries take him as a role model, he is not extremely popular in his country, he is extremely popular in the whole region.
western cry babies don't understand this
I'm from the UK and I support his policies
*he is not _JUST_ extremely popular in his country, he is extremely popular in the whole region
Beautifully said at the end of the video. It's their country, they chose him out of necessity. The people have spoken and enough is enough. Let them have their peace.
no man you dont get it the american mongrels on twitter dont like their beloved gangsters being treated the way they treat civilains therefore it is wrong
@@YuukiZ2023 If only gang members were humans...
@@YuukiZ2023 weak . Your il encourages chaos in the name of " human rights " NGO SHILLS
@@YuukiZ2023 Human rights to murder people, of course.
@@YuukiZ2023 you don't care about human rights. you didn't care about the people who had to live there before the clean up.
"If it is a mistake, it is their mistake to make"
What a perfect line.
Brazilian here, and all my love and hopes to El Salvador. ❤🇧🇷
You are your own masters - do what you have to do, and tell the international community to shove it.
as an el salvadorean, my mom would always tell me horror stories of how people could get robbed just for carrying money on the streets and anything of value, it was brutal and there was plenty of gang violence, it was like the cartels were a ruthless shadow government. after the crackdown, everything is peaceful and alot better
Hope your family no longer has to suffer from such brutality anymore, 🇧🇷 ❤ 🇸🇻
Would you say that the vast majority of those who got arrested during those mass arrests were criminals?
@@billbauer9795 in a country with such a chronic cartel issue, it seems difficult to say
@@billbauer9795To actually solve a problem of that magnitude, even cultural, you have to hit hard, tragically there will be innocent people in the crossroads but what is the other option, leaving criminals to live freely for the worth of keeping some regular civilians unharmed or stopping it all with some harmed civilians? This is why theres so much wrong in the world because we think as the first option, we must calculate and act because you will as a true politician who changes culture, hit someone on accident.
@@krstffrbrg01 I agree. I was just trying to find out an estimate of the fraction who got detained who might be innocent - is it 10%, 1% or 0.1%?
I’ve been going to El Salvador all my life to visit my parent’s family and my husband’s family and for vacations. I just came back this weekend and I can say this was the first time ever in 48 years where I have gone and never once in these past 2 weeks was I scared for my or my family’s safety. Great feeling! Go El Salvador 🇸🇻!
If it continues this course El Salvador’s will be the Latin American Singapore. Big things coming in the future.
@@AlexP-jz9sgnot really since it will lose the internet freedom it already had for data centers and anonymous offshore bank accounts and shell corporations. Which is what Singapore is actually well known and profits well for.
Wonderful! Last time I went I was 14. I’m 36 now and hope to take my family to see my beautiful country. So proud of what it’s become.
I'm most concerned about the Covid arrests.
Btw, look up the School of Americas.
the funny thing is that Singapore did this 50-60 years ago and look where the country is now. the removal of gangs and triads was one of the earliest steps in the country's developmental progress. the various external unions which are against this guy cleaning up his country need to look at other examples where something similar has worked, not by using their vastly different historical, societal and cultural backgrounds and incorrectly deeming his method to be unjustified.
Here in the first world we're so far removed from our actual history that we cannot fathom the states these countries are in. Spoiled
You are spot on with Singapore.I mentioned this as a replay to a user comment that was criticizer for Bukele taking absolute power.Let him take the power, and bring order - there are only 2 ways - people will praise him or overthrow him.
@@princeigorash Honestly a benevolent dictatorship is the best form of government but there's no way to ensure that the next dictator will be as good. If he isn't the entire nation suffers. Look at Rome for example. But some sort of system to allow the election of a dictator given a crisis would be great, again like how they had in Rome with the Senatus consultum ultimum
@@sirllamaiii9708 Who said that the next guy had to be a dictator?
@@HappyGick Unless at the end of the current dictators term he implements extreme reforms, the next one would use the same loopholes and laws to make himself a dictator as well
I am a Vietnam veteran and must tell you that during operations there are sometimes collateral damages and that is how one might view the arrests of those who are not gang members. It is unfortunate, but sometimes the end does justify the means and this appears to be an example of that. Best of luck to all of us!
Vietnam war vet: ends justify means: whatd ya do participate in my lai?
As a Salvadoran myself, I really appreciate how neutral, balanced and objective this video was. Thank you! All viewpoints both negative and positive were considered. While there was definitely more detail that you could have gone into for certain points, I understand that for this type of video there is only so much time that can be spent on any one point or topic. Congrats on a great introductory expose on the current state of Salvadoran politics.
American politicians do that sometime where they won't show up to emergency legislation it's the worst!!
@@Rays_Bad_Decisions it's because there are no or little benevolent leaders or legislators, to them, it's mostly money I mind.
its not neutral and unbalanced, i've watched wendy for a long time and he's proficient in logistics not politics, he sounds like a mediocre reddit commentator here
you can hear the passive aggressive condescending tone, he doesn't even realize that he's doing it inadvertently
"dictator" and hundred other judgements and explanations are just being blurted out about what systems are why they are and what they should be isn't even thought about properly here
@@ydid687 this is a really interesting take, I appreciate it
@@ydid687 I agree with this, he does little to justify why Bukele may be using this 'dictator' approach. It paints a picture of extremism when the most important question (at least for me) is what the reasoning behind these decisions are. That goes unanswered and dismissed as dictatorship through his inadvertent remarks. Still a very interesting video
Let me clarify two things. Gangs had a 18 or MS tattoo that only they could have, as if you had it, and you were seen with it by the other gang, your life would be a risk, not to say that if by accident you were in a town from the other gang you would be 100% dead. I remember having a shirt with a 18 number in the middle (nothing related to gangs, it was just the name of the commerce) and I was advised to get ride of it as I could get in troubles.
looks like brazil's gang culture
The same to me in San Francisco I was wearing a not a T-shirt but I didn't call that like a sweater. It was red and my godmother says you're not Going Out with this thing. Are you? She made me take it out or take it off whatever
he isnt interested in facts, only false words to make his video seem correct
I’m From the USA, and I respect this man more than any American politician. He had the guts to actually stop the gangs, who are basically terror organizations. He cracked down on the extortion that was crippling the economy. I have high hopes for our friends in El Salvador.
Americans that vote Democrat need to ask themselves why they support violent criminals destroying America
He also demolished the foundation for a longterm successfull future. Without checks and balances their is no protection from corruption anymore. Even if he is a saint and uncorruptable, he will die someday and his successor wont be. By the way, what happens when he looses popular support? Do you really think he will step down or chance his mind? Looking at his past actions I dont think so.
did you watch the video
@@noah6351 yes
The biggest terror organizations are governments......corrupt policies by corrupt politicians like in the US are killing far more people than gangs do...
amazing.. he’s actually for the people
As a Honduran, I'd say most Hondurans are kind of wishing El Salvador would take over Honduras under Bukele's rule, and maybe even bring back the Central American Republic
I’m a Salvadorian too and I think this is highly unlikely. El Salvador just isn’t Russia. It’s nice though to think or even imagine of the Republic of Central America. So many videos with comments about how our neighboring countries or even in South America, how they want Bukele over there to be president.
Hey, don't be saying that even in comments. Big Brother wouldn't like that.
Honduras could vote to be ruled by him if they wanted to lol
You could form a new federation by referendum
Honduras AND Nicaragua (especially) need reforms of this magnitude ... But Bukele's way is not sustainable. These countries need to run themselves more like Costa Rica ...
I love your closing sentence of it being THEIR mistake to make. They're a country with full autonomy and they should be allowed to make decisions for themselves. I'm happy to see how far El Salvador has come, but I'm hoping it doesn't spill into a dictator regime, but I'm somewhat confident it won't
The only way it won't is if bukele himself steps down and shows the errors
The problem is usually if a country is truly making a mistake by giving all of their power to the government. They can’t undo that mistake in the modern era. The government and its forces will simply be too powerful for the people to take their lives back.
It would be a mistake that could never be undone. That’s how dictators work. Dictators are usually only able to be overthrown by foreign intervention in the modern era.
A dictatorship isn't necessarily bad.
What democracy has given to Latin America?? A pile of thugs, looters, gangsters, killers, narcos, thieves, criminals, fraudsters etc. Democracy has failed totally, and it is a failed system.
interference by other countries will happen soon, and they’ll be considered a misfortune.
A man that truly loves his country and did everything in his power to make it better.
Very rare these days in the age of greed.
@@87mrreynolds eh i wouldn't say it's rare it's just rare they get anywhere because all of the greedy people will tear them down for their purpose
what do you mean? He suspended the constitution indefinitely and he is just locking up people he doesn't like. If an American president did that here you and everybody would call me an evil dictator.
@@gotworc very good good point.
@@gotworc indeed it’s so sad how many socialist presidents and leaders of labor parties never got the chance to see or enact actual change in their countries, president allende always comes to mind because he actually pushed change and got it thru but Pinochet and the cia funding got to him before he could do something as radical as changing the flag💀
A benevolent dictator is theoretically the best form of gouvernment. Unfortunately power always corrupts so we'll see how this works out longterm. There are very few cases where dictators gave back their powers and a lot of cases where they didn't...
As a salvadorean I find this very interesting, because I never could explain to myself: how a small country like mine could have a lot of problems when there’s city’s that are bigger in size and they are pretty all right.
Long story short: colonialism, it's because of colonialism lol
Pueblo chico infierno grande
@@zweks na, has nothing to do with colonialism XD thats just a very weak argument, el salvador has been independent for over 200 years, if its shitty its their fault, the change is real, saying that all american cointinent problems are a consequence of colonialism is just weak, sure it left countries with an identity struggle, but its not valid, other american countries really kept up with the advance so its not a solid argument
@@savarinodragoantonio6505wrong. Proxy colonialism. Please research the united fruit company.
Corrupted politicians both from the extreme right and pro cuban left. Until now.
The "developed countries" will never understand that this is the only way to save 3rd world countries. Hats off to Mr Bukele, I wish Brasil had someone with the same courage.
It might be the only way but the thing is that this way also works in 20% of the cases at best (when the guy amassing such power is nice enough to step down eventually and not pass on his powers to his cronies, kids or party successors), and the remaining 80% are the cases where the situation spirals out of control and results in another civil war or outright demotion of the 3rd world country to the 4rd world status 😅
@@ajorfev then we will have to wait and see... it's a risk that I think it's worth taking
Exactly like Singapour and Indonesia
So bolsonario wasn't that courageous man?
@@absolutelycitron1580 nope... great ideas but lack of know-how to make them work politically, with a strong opposition sponsored by the drug cartel
This is a truly outstanding display of good journalism. There is the good, the bad, the ugly, and the multiple sides of analysis of these. This was really great work Wendover.
he didn’t cover the perspective of the vegetables in the city of el salvador and as a vegan i find it objectionable that we live in such a carnivoristic society where people have to eat their own family. shame on you.
@@gamble8008yum yum
What was the bad?
@@gamble8008 Plants lives matter too
2% in jail, 98% happy and not being shot. It’s beautiful.
Him calling the emergency congressional hearing and having the military surround the lawmakers was definitely a power move. Kinda smart but also very dangerous
Sometimes in Politics you gotta play rough. Cause everytime the opposing party is always gonna go "You're NOT my president!" and then stop doing anything productive to help the nation just make the holding President look bad.
well up to this point he hasn't shown to be a threat to his own people , so I will praise his results until he turns really messed up , if he does
@@houssedecouette4056 and the problem is that, by throwing checks and balances out the window, if HE fails, then there is no way for someone else to do what he has: come in and make the necessary radical changes to fix the problem.
Generally speaking the military and police is often bought and paid for by foreign interests or old money in developing countries and the legislative body tends to be the primary tool to get that done.
It’s quite an exception to get principled men in these institutions willing to support the national executive over the foreign owned legislative body but if it sticks around for a generation you can see huge changes for the better as neither local elites nor foreign interests are able to get away with the same things unless they work towards ensuring economic collapse and inaction when it comes to security or social concerns.
That's how you get things DONE!
The issue is that he needs to establish himself as an exception and not the precedent; someday he will leave office, and if every following president thinks they can run the country as a dictator, then it is inevitable that the country will collapse, therefore he needs to leave the presidency with the government reestablished in a manner that prevents others from using the very loopholes he himself exploited.
There have been some countries that seemed have to developed democratic and indepentent institutions that have made some countries prosper. Like the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, South Korea, Taiwan, and the undemocratic but prosperous Singapore. Although, I'm not sure what made them different from other dictatorships. It could be geography.
exactly, all it takes is one populist tyrant to reverse all the good he has done
I think as long as the "dictator" is chosen democratically. Then using the same loopholes when necessary will not be st El Salvador demise. As long as the people have the power to choose their leaders and their leaders are competent. Then the country will be in safe hands.
Much still needs to be done and while this generation of criminals is still around there can be no step back in the actions that have had to be taken to reduce violence otherwise it could be undone in one weekend under a weaker and more globalist leader who is incapable of making the necessary calls.
@@Harry-yr4tm the problem is, if you hold power of all three branches of power, you can essentially write into law that you're forever god emperor. that you're allowed to bypass votes, or change votes etc. you're really gambling and putting all your trust in one person to not become sick with power and seize it all to themselves forever
Both of my parents are from El Salvador, they fled their home country during the start of the civil war. Hearing their stories of the war is harrowing. My dad described bodies littering the streets from both gangs and the military. And most unfortunate, civilians ended up getting involved because both of the former groups targeted them, questioning their affiliations. Many decades later, my parents learned about Bukele, my dad criticized him often, but my mom likes him to the point she even finds him quite handsome. It gives me confidence that one day, if my mom gets deported after her green card expires, she'll come home to a more peaceful and beautiful country. It also gives me hope that one day I won't be afraid of traveling there and that I won't have to worry about gang violence. Bukele may not be a saint, but he's done more than anyone before him has done. He has proven himself as someone who fights for his people, no matter the costs. I hope that he can console the country and turn it into a place everyone would stop looking down upon.
There's two sides to each coin. It brings me joy to see that the majority of people are happy. But I have a sister who was shot in my mothers home for having a tattoo. The military raided the wrong house and destroyed my moms house. She spent years paying for it and they took it from her and almost took my sisters life. They also incarcerated my cousin for having a tattoo right after his kid was born. It's one extreme to another. If they are going to arrest in mass and build a massive prison. They need to have the resources to atleast process claims and separate the legit gang members and people who just happened to have tattoos or be at the wrong place. As well as compensate those people whose lives they have ruined by accident.
@@phillipmartinez2436
In US, we don't have a dictatorship (at least not on the surface).
But our police are always raiding the wrong house and shooting unarmed people. Mostly due to incompetence or sometimes racism.
If police raid a house by mistake or use a house as a strategic post to handle a hostage situation, the homeowner pays for the damage. Qualified immunity protects our police from liability if they damage someone's home unjustly.
Yes, a few lucky people have managed to sue the police and win. Like Brianna Taylor's mom. But the odds of winning a lawsuit against the cops are slim to none. If the police unjustly damage our homes or cars, we are not entitled to compensation. And we're a first world democracy. In theory
Green card expires but you can renew it. Just because it expire doesn’t mean you are illegal. It’s just like a driving license.
@@-.a9942 yeah, I know, my mom has renewed her green card over and over again over the years. I'm just unsure she will want to go through the process again without my dad since he recently passed away. She's currently 63 and we're unsure how my dad's death (he was naturalized) could affect her status. The reason why I worry is because she has been meaning to no longer renew it and just to get citizenship, but she hasn't taken any of the necessary steps to become a citizen, so I'm unsure of what her game plan is now.
@@phillipmartinez2436if this took years, that may have happened before Bukele’s state of exception. Was this under Sanchez Cerén? I remember before Bukele there were lots of extrajudicial killings by elements of the police who were sick and tired of gangsters going through the rotating door of the justice system. Since Bukele started his mandate, no opposition media has reported that type of incidents.
The pandilleros control over the territory for almost 30 years was a true dictatorship, which breached many human rights including the right to life, to free transit, to freedom of speech, to freedom of association, freedom of commerce and the right to enjoy the fruits of one’s labour. Bukele’s measures was just and necessary. We could not solve the problems that arose under the old system with the tools in that system.
By the way, I am sorry for your sister. Something similar happened to us in the 80s when death squads came to our place. It was the wrong address. Very traumatic.
This is what democracy looks like. A government for the people. Not for protecting the cartels.
I'm from Argentina, most of the people here agrees that Bukele government is controversial but clearly effective. When things works well nobody can deny that the ends justify the means.
I don't know anything. What are the controversial things about his Govt?
@@emilishungrythey call him authoritarian
Did the ends justify the means when Hitler consolidated power and allowed the German economy to recover, feeding millions of starving people?
@@emilishungryhe created a police state where the president has all the power.
@@emilishungryhe's pretty authoritarian and against abortion
I’m glad El Salvador has been on a path to improvement. But I also understand the concern from external watchers.
As a South Korean, I can’t help but feel a little suspicious of Bukele’s suspension of constitutional rights.
I mention my nationality because SK owes a lot of its economic progress to Park Chung-hee, a former general who took power via coup and later consolidated it via popular election. Most foreigners do not know that he held power in 3 phases-1st as the leader of a coup (1961-63), 2nd as a popularly elected president (1963-1972), and the 3rd as a self-installed dictator(1972-1979). Following the coup, national elections were held in 1963, which historians generally agree that they were not rigged. Park won 46.64% of the votes while the opposite candidate won 45.09%.
Throughout his 3-term presidency, Park promised reforms, stamping out corruption, growing the economy, and building a stronger national defense against North Korea (which was, at the time, richer and was better armed). While it was never a true democracy, he did deliver on these fronts. His economic policies that grew the manufacturing sector set the basis for SK’s super-growth from the 70s to the 80s.
But, he was also quick to ignore basic rights citing counter-communist activities as a reason. Anyone suspected of being a North Korean spy or even a sympathizer were quick to disappear. Just like El Salvador, both the fear and threat were/are real. But at the same time, it is nonetheless a slippery slope.
Then in 1972, SK slipped off that slope. Park proclaimed the “October Yushin,” a new constitution for a new republic in Korea. It dissolved political activities and parties, effectively went from ignoring basic rights to deleting them from the constitution, and dismantled the staple checks-and-balances system of a democratic government. Politicians were arrested and exiled with zero impunity. Books were banned, many universities closed either temporarily or indefinitely, and students discussing ‘revisionist’ ideas were branded communist and soon disappeared, only to be discovered dead or delirious due to abuses such as water torture.
Only when Park was assassinated by his intelligence chief, did the Yushin era end. Then again, whatever semblance of a democracy we had in Korea before Park was in such shambles that another dictator took power in 1980. This one, Chun, began his regime by openly massacring protesters and a citizen’s militia on May 18 1980 for protesting the coup. Only in 1987 were popular elections and democracy reinstated following nationwide protests in June.
Goodwill should never, and cannot be depended upon as a barrier towards dictatorship. Bukele deserves the praise for his policy’s successes in bringing about a safer El Salvador. At the same time, it would do the citizens well to understand that this is an extremely slippery slope. I just hope that Bukele is the hero El Salvador deserves, that he will democratically transfer power once his mission and terms are complete.
Incredible commentary my friend, thanks for teaching me a bit of your history, hugs from El salvador.
Hmmmm very interesting…
I suspect the El Salvadorian president was following Lee Kuan Yew, a potential more successful and positive proponent of that model..
As long as he can keep his ego in check El Salvador will be fine.
Wow.. i didnt know north korea was once better than SK
“I can’t help but feel a little suspicious of Bukele’s suspension of constitutional rights.” - IMO, reading on the modern history of El Salvador would be helpful. The 1972 elections could be a good starting point for the events that led to the (formally) 13 years of the Civil War. Don't miss the context of the Cold War: both the US and the Soviets meddled into the conflict heavy-handedly. The paramilitary gangs never disappeared since, and never stopped their operations, although they have no longer been as steeped in ideology-if they ever have. Violence never really ended since.
I, like you, very much hope for a peaceful transition to democracy. It's a small but very cohesive country, with few if any divisive issues: everything the people want is safety, infrastructure and jobs. It seems the first time, historically, when it's really possible. It hardly was with the two old parties, both rooted in the conflict of the old-hardly ideological anymore, but still very backward-looking, as if still mentally in the Civil War. Like, who cares about water supply and literacy at wartime. And it's not that they didn't care about their pockets, tho. Corruption is another riddle to solve.
Its a slippery slope if the guy on top doenst know how to play his cards right.
You see in order for a nation to move forward and develop it needs to be united. For that to happen at least a majority of it has to think and act alike aka there should not be a fragmented society. For example such as ,,you are social democrat and i am a conservative" no no those should be eliminated as concepts, who we are as people matter. The reason why nothing can get done in our modern time is because people spend most of their time argueing and fighting each other over the dumbest of things while those on top just watch and fuel the flames. So in order to not happen everybody needs to be aligned politicaly and culturally to a singular concept, entity and leader.
Next step in ensuring the system would NOT fail us to set up checks and balances that do NOT restrict the person at the top from taking some important decisions. Then there is the whole system of governance that has to be created along with its own culture. Where in a more monarchic way a successor can be chosen by the current ruler and approved by the parlament.
Look at the soviet union look at china. One of them collapsed for mere economic reasons, while the other is still standing.
Democracy is not just putting a piece of paper in a box. It about doing whats in the interest od the nation and the people.
Bukele is amazing. I just went to El Salvador, and you can see the transformation of this country, especially on safety
The great Allan Watts has a quote that says "The road to hell is paved by good intentions". Kudos to the man for bringing on order, but power corrupts even good people, with good intentions. His story is not any different from other strongman, popular dictators. The guy essentially made himself the system, that's essentially a a recipe for disaster. The fact that he has essentially changed the constitution so he can run again, doesn't see anyone fit to run but himself should have people worried, he has destroyed corrupt systems, built a new one to serve him instead of rehabilitation of the system to serve everyone equally and have checks and balances. That place is essentially sitted on a time bomb.
As a Salvadoran, i deeply appreciate how neutral and unbiased this video was! Something i'd like to add, is that Bukele not only has control of all 3 branches of the government, but also other institutions. And even though us Salvadorans feel safer than ever, the police and military forces remain being corrupted institutions that just follow the government commands, as they always have been. With the dictatorship period and the civil war, Salvadorans grew up with the idea that fear is power and security justifies losing your liberty, so that explains a lot of the approval Bukele and his methods have.
he's a corrupt tyrant and good luck getting them out of power now the day they become unpopular from sticking their corrupt hands into the cookie jar to enrich themselves. Nothing good at all comes from being above the law and facing 0 accountability.
And how did he get control of all branches?
Some times authoritarian rule is necessary for a hard reset. What matters is if they return they power back to the people and that is a gamble.
@@viktoriyaserebryakov2755 so this American model of democracy is overrated?
I appreciate the president too. I remember how violent it was when I was little. My mom got robbed a gun point several times when I was very young and they eve threatened to take me. Im glad they threw all these criminal dirt bags in jail rot until theyre no longer in this world.
“Condemned by everyone in the business of condemning” Genius. Reflects perfectly that sometimes there aren’t good solutions but different levels of bad and save face avoiding criticism by the “professional critics” could be one of the most costly in human lives and misery. Perhaps the critics should be accountable for that no matter the good intentions as everything has consequences.
Technically Bukele didn’t solve the problem, he postponed it
Now the problem is in prison, but unless they stay there until they die, theses people have to come out at some point
You need a process to reintegrate them into society without spiralling back into gang violence
Since theses people were arrested outside of due process, it is very hard to tell who is innocent and who isn’t
You also have a new problem : the police isn’t going to let go of their arbitrary right easily, how do you go back to a civil society from that ?
@@Taletad "You need a process to reintegrate them into society" I don't think that they should be reintegrated into society, they gave up on that option by causing so many acts of violence. Policies of reintegration into society destroyed my country.
@@hetoverseo3887 what about the innocent people there ?
@@Taletad Exactly. What about them? How many other innocent lives one of them is worth? I know, I wouldn’t want to be there unjustly accused, but neither I wouldn’t want my family (and me) dead by free roaming criminals. The easy way is always to wash our hands if we can avoid the problem because we are rich or don’t live there. But our “clean conscience” has a steep price in blood 🤷🏻♂️. I am not saying it is right or wrong, just lest costly in lives first and well being and future after. It is a sacrifice Bukele is doing for its people because no matter what, he is going to pay. It is how it works.
@@hetoverseo3887Yeah tbh if someone tats a fat 13 and devil horns all over their Face I’d say that’s a big indicator not to let them back into society easily.
Really hard to pass judgement on, but it is truly a perfect representation of how a nation may be able to increase overall productivity while disregarding nuance while having a dictator. And still somehow the dynamic creates a positive relationship.
Sometimes fighting corruption and gangs requires taking off the white gloves.
@@Mr.Legend_Speaks They are fighting the gangs and winning but corruption has only gone up
@@Mr.Legend_Speaks As someone who had an almost dictator, the only thing I can say is that he could have done it with the democratic institutions in tact.
Duterte did the same with drugs, many died who should have not.
Easy to say if yor family was not a victim of the state sponsored terrorism.
@@joshuakevinserdan9331 so were your relatives drug addicts?
One word: Singapore
The fact that the UN, human rights groups, and mainstream media hate him, tells you everything you need to know about these organizations and their agenda.
Yes, it means they are concerned that the idea that you can just remove corruption by removing and killing corrupt people, often just leads to other corrupt people taking their place, which makes sense, if understand the conditions that causes corruption and crimes in the first place. But of course, you don't.
@@alvodin6197 So you think the media is on your side? and is reporting truth?
@@dolorousjohn5499no, but anyone who has studied history knows that this is how it turns out most of the time. People are praying Bukele is the exception not the rule.
Nah, they're just thinking at a different scale. Dismantling those checks and balances is expedient, but it is *dangerous*. What happens if the next guy is greedy or incompetent?
Is it more dangerous than the risks taken by leaving them intact but slowing things down? That's for Salvadorans to decide. But pretending they're not taking a gamble helps no one.
Those organizations can only point the finger to other countries to criticize while they have bigger skeletons in their closet. It's what made people wake up that most of these institutions are not created to help people and countries but to 'keep the in check' aka control them.
So much of what happened seems extremely concerning, especially the court packing he did. But if I lived in El Salvador, I’d probably like him too. I can’t imagine being unable to feel safe in my own home.
Its amazing
It’s still unsafe, my fam went there recently and there was someone always with a gun being vigilant - not safe community imo. You can go about your day but honestly real change starts when education, workforce opportunity, investment get better - not holding the country by the throat for every step they take, it doesn’t last forever
@@jherc12990 Opportunity and education is important but opportunity can’t come without enough of a stable business climate, and that requires rule of law to reign to a reasonable degree.
In fairness America has packed it's courts with psychotic right wingers that have been rubber stamping right wing laws. It just took a few decades not a few months.
America needs to do something about it's supreme court cause it's a short term problem and a long term problem.
@@CreepahKillahRSA yeah, but it seems everyone is clouded by Bukele making the country safer when in reality safety is just bliss if you have to have people being vigilant all the time. I understand what’s trying to be accomplished but there should be plans already in place to make education and opportunity better - those are mutual goals, both safety and opportunity.
Doesn’t even necessarily have to come from foreign investment, it should start internally.
What’s the point of going to college in El Salvador if you can only make between 10 to 15k annually?
I remember what a historian said about Julius Caesar, "Julius Caesar was a dictator, but he became a dictator when the Roman Republic needed a leader. Sometimes to get something done, you need absolute power to achieve that."
I feel the same way after watching this video. Sure, not every country agrees with Bukele way of dealing with violence and limiting democratic values, however, El Salvador was in deep shit for democracy to achieve any solution.
I heard something similar about Italy. Something like “Italy had to be united by a prince in order to become a democracy”
You know how every Roman emperor ended after? Extremely corrupted, power hungry, or just killed by the pretorians, only very few managed to have peace, no man should be given so much power because it will corrupt them, coming from a country who had a leader (Chavez) that was charismatic and that had a paradigm shift of politics, it seems to paint the same story as Bukele just in another country, while what he is doing seems to look amazing there is something off, I just hope he doesn't repeat the same mistakes as Venezuela giving a man too much power.
The problem is that for every Julius Caesar there are a whole gang of Neros and Caligulas waiting in the wings.
@@nimzodorf oh the other hand we have US, where your votes count towards a corrupt, power hungry candidate or the other corrupt, power hungry candidate. And they have less powers than the Senators!
Not every country agrees, but not every country had the cards Bukele was dealt. How do you stop gangs if you can't empower police?
I’ve known many refugees from El Salvador in the past. One little boy, 12yrs old, was the only survivor when his entire village was murdered by MS 13. I am absolutely positive every of them supports the current president.
I’m truly happy the situation has improved. And you are right. It’s their country. I can only speak for mine, and we don’t have such a great track record of “helping” in other countries politics.
My brother in law is Salvadoran and my family is Mexican. We all love and admire Bukele my sister and brother-in-law especially. My brother left his country and remembered it as a dangerous place that he never wanted to return to or even think of taking my sister to but they have finally gone to visit his home country and I’m so happy for them. I hope someday Mexico will take notes and finally have some change. I hope the US and UN will mind its own business and instead worry about its own citizens because we are the saddest joke to a first world country these years.
I have family in El Salvador. Some family members were detained because of suspicions of being associated with gangs. They were not gang members but they hung out with them. However, the majority of my family have more opportunities. The schools, parks, libraries, and neighborhoods are safe. They have told me crime is very minimal. People don’t try stupid things because they know they will disappear and rot in jail. People are starting new businesses because gangs can’t exploit them.
I have not heard from my family members who were detained. Quite frankly, no one has heard from them. It sucks but they should have not associated with gangs. You can see the difference since gangs have been exiled.
I'm from El Salvador in the old days the gangs covered them self with tattoos I went to El Salvador soon After getting out of the Army when useless fmln president Ceren was in office and it was miserable the streets were ran by gangs but later to infiltrate the El Salvadoran and Police 🚨 the gangs stopped tattooing themselves but they were gang members I went in 2014 fresh out the Army after ten years it really irritated me and made my blood boil to see inocent people die just because local businesses didn't want to pay the gang leader rent, or if you lived on one block you could not go to another rival gangs block otherwise you did not came out alive, they raped,killed, kidnapped, get caught and since they had made a deal with the politicians arena and fmln they had a rule that if a gang member killed someone one and if After 3 days there was no witness technically the judge had to release him or the gangs payed off the corrupt judges and since the gangs ran the town no one dared to be a witness or you would end up dead so to make it short the politicians and the gangs ran the whole country..
And by the way I was a US Army infantry man I got airborne and crossed rifles tattoos and units that I served tattoos and I walked in the beach with out a shirt they only look for gangs related tattoos.
Oh by the way in small country and small towns every one knows everyone's business so these person relatives are not in jail in vain the police and military had dat and info on all this gangs they went in and out of jail but they paid of the corrupt judges and the politicians made a deal with both big gangs to run the country in exchange for their vote that's why both corrupt party's keep winning that's why they are worried because Bukele trew their voters in jail Bukele did not wanted to negotiate with them. And they would steal millions son after they would retire...well now they can't steal millions any more.
I'll be visiting very soon. Love to hear it@@arseniovayadares
They probably were gang members you don't just "hang out" with gang members and not join
@@JonJon-kx6xl absolutely idiots can hang out with gang members or not specially, if that’s all that’s in their neighborhood or that was a lifestyle or culture. That being said, I’m not shitting here that they got locked up because they decided to associate with gang members
I’m South African and we are also ‘privileged’ with a high murder and crime rate and I fully sympathise with the El Salvadorans here. People who live in safe countries have no idea how mentally taxing it is to be constantly worrying about your safety and the safety of your friends and family whilst gangsters and criminals run rampant. If we had someone similar to Bukele I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.
There's a certain type of freedom that comes from living in a low-crime society.
Sympathize*
Even considering there was a decent chance your be wrongfully detained?
@pm chimp ?.
@@Khloya69 only for yanks
I enjoy this video because it shows both side and doesn’t feel like is pushing an agenda. I am Salvadorian and honestly looking at how international coverage looks at El Salvador it is very clear that they have an agenda. The majority of El Salvador population is happy right now, I have visited and felt extremely safe
I have a friend from elsalvador. he said that before going outside at night is death sentence. now people goes outside at night now without being worried about gangs lutking in every corner. he said that economically its wonderful and for the population its a blessing
@@mentaloutonline9876 he must be medium high class, the crisis in El Salvador is rough and groceries have almost doubled in price in the past year
The international communist want to see El Salvador poor and unsafe. Support your president and never allow voting by machines from foreign countries.
@@zweks That's not exclusive to El Salvador brudda, that's happening nearly everywhere
@@zweks That is due to the Russian and Ukranian war, and it is not an isolated case. Everywhere in the world groceries are extremely expensive.
I failed miserably by interpretating the situation in El Salvador , the now safest country in the western hemisphere
unless you are one of the innocent people who got arrested and jailed without any due process