SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AFP) — El Salvador has abruptly changed its constitution to remove term limits, paving the way for the self-styled “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele, to run for an unprecedented third term.

So how did the 44-year-old leader secure such sweeping reforms in just hours and with almost no opposition? And how has he achieved such an iron grip on power after just six years in office?

When Bukele burst onto the political scene, Salvadorans were already fed up with the traditional parties of the right and left, particularly with their inability to stop poverty and rampant gang violence.

“The gangs extorted everyone. People were already tired and disappointed by previous governments,” explained political analyst Ricardo Navarro.

“That allowed him to win in 2019” with 52 per cent of the votes, said Navarro, adding: “There was exhaustion.”

The Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs once controlled an estimated 80 per cent of the country, and El Salvador had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Bukele’s security policies, which included jailing tens of thousands of people — often with little in the way of due process — led to a steep drop in murder rates.

Some suspect that the young leader, despite his hardline rhetoric, also benefited from a secret pact with some of the gangs.

An investigation by the digital newspaper El Faro claimed that in exchange for money and benefits for imprisoned leaders, the gangs reduced violence and rallied votes for him.

Bukele faced a hostile legislature when he came to power, so he sent in the army.

In 2020, during a debate about a loan to pay for his security policies, he lined the floor of the assembly with armed police and soldiers.

It was a theatrical gesture, and an unsubtle warning to lawmakers, according to Celia Medrano, a human rights specialist.

“It was the clearest possible expression of the militarisation of politics,” she said.

With the help of a well-oiled media machine, by 2021, Bukele’s party won the majority in Congress, enabling him to change judges and prosecutors who opposed him.

From then on, everything changed.

“He has eliminated political opposition through a combination of legal manoeuvres, military intimidation, control of the media, and popular policies like gang repression,” according to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).

After a reported 87 murders in one weekend, Bukele imposed a state of emergency in 2022.

About 88,000 people accused of being gang members or accomplices were arrested.

“That allowed him to increase popularity and at the same time establish a kind of threat to anyone who criticises or dares to dissent,” Juan Pappier, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, told
AFP.

The policies were popular, despite widespread allegations of arbitrary detention and hundreds of reported prison deaths.

According to a June survey conducted by the opinion institute at Central American University (UCA), 59.7 per cent of Salvadorans believe the state of emergency should continue.

But according to Medrano, speaking about popularity in a country where six out of 10 Salvadorans express fear of sharing their opinion is a “fiction”.

At the height of his popularity, Bukele was re-elected in February 2024 with 85 per cent of the vote, crushing the opposition and achieving near-total dominance over state institutions.

Even though re-election was prohibited in the constitution, judges from the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber — appointed by his party — interpreted the law to allow his candidacy.

“This is where years of gradual constitutional manipulation lead to the dismantling of democracy. By capturing institutions, silencing critics, and rewriting the constitution, he has created an authoritarian electoral system,” WOLA said.

Last year, Congress changed the way the constitution can be reformed so that it could be done quickly, as what happened on Thursday when term limits were lifted without warning.

US President Donald Trump’s return to power gave Bukele a new boost.

“Bukele is taking several measures now because he knows Trump will not set limits and is fully willing to turn a blind eye to the destruction of Salvadoran democracy,” said Pappier.

Bukele’s loyalty to the US president was sealed when he kept 252 Venezuelans deported by Washington imprisoned for four months.

“He feels somewhat shielded by his association with the US president,” said Noah Bullock, director of Cristosal, a rights NGO that has been forced to leave the country.

Emboldened by his embrace of Trump, Bukele recently detained prominent human rights defenders.

Dozens of activists and organisations, such as Cristosal, have had to go into exile.

With its reform, El Salvador joins Nicaragua and Venezuela as Latin American nations without presidential term limits.

General view of the Blue Room of El Salvador’s legislative assembly in San Salvador, on July 31, 2025. El Salvador’s ruling-party-dominated Congress discussed indefinite presidential re-election on July 31, 2025. Photo: AFP