Editing History of El Salvador (section)

==Bukele presidency (2019–)==
[[File: Nayib Bukele talks at his inauguration ceremony.jpg|thumb|Nayib Bukele talks at his inauguration ceremony]]
In February 2019, [[Nayib Bukele]], a [[Millennials|Millennial]] who was not aligned with either of the major parties that had dominated the country since the Civil War, was elected president of El Salvador.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/world/americas/salvador-bukele-election.html|title=Nayib Bukele, an Outsider Candidate, Claims Victory in El Salvador Election|first1=Gene|last1=Palumbo|first2=Elisabeth|last2=Malkin|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 3, 2019}}</ref>

According to a report by the [[International Crisis Group]] (ICG) 2020, the homicide rate in El Salvador declined by as much as 60 percent since Bukele became president in June 2019. This phenomenon could be related to the informal “non-aggression agreement” between the government and certain of the [[Mara (gang)|maras]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/el-salvador-nayib-bukele-gangs/|title=The El Salvador President's Informal Pact with Gangs|date=2 October 2020|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>

President Nayib Bukele remains very popular among the citizens, with approval ratings typically hovering around 90 percent, almost unheard of in presidential politics.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-16 |title=El Salvador's millennial president is a man with one vision: Power |url=https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-05-16/nayib-bukele-the-most-popular-president-in-the-world-is-a-man-with-one-ideology-power |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> El Salvador's [[2021 Salvadoran legislative election|legislative elections]] was an important breakthrough in February 2021. [[Nuevas Ideas]] (New Ideas)—the new party founded by Bukele—won around two-thirds of votes with its allies (GANA-New Ideas). Nuevas Ideas won a supermajority of 56 seats in the 84-seat parliament. This supermajority enabled President Bukele to appoint judges and pass laws (for example, to remove presidential term limits).<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/salvador-bukele-legislative-midterm-election-authoritarian/2021/02/28/5f2ac302-77c9-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html|title=El Salvador midterm election: Bukele gains legislative assembly supermajority - The Washington Post|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Dyde|first=James|date=1 March 2021|title=El Salvador Legistative Elections 2021 {{!}} www.centralamerica.com|url=https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/el-salvador-legistlative-elections-2021/|access-date=21 February 2024|website=Central America}}</ref> In September 2021, El Salvador's Supreme Court decided to allow Bukele to run for a second term in 2024, despite the constitution prohibits the president to serve two consecutive terms in office. The decision was organized by judges appointed to the court by President Bukele.<ref>{{cite news|title=El Salvador's Bukele gets greenlight to run for re-election|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210904-el-salvador-s-bukele-gets-greenlight-to-run-for-re-election|work=France 24|date=4 September 2021}}</ref>

In 2021, El Salvador adopted the Bitcoin as its legal tender under the direction of Bukele. Its value at the time was equivalent to US$52,000. In January 2022, the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) urged El Salvador to reverse its decision to make cryptocurrency [[Bitcoin]] legal tender. Bitcoin had rapidly lost about half of its value, meaning economic difficulties for El Salvador. President Bukele had announced his plans to build a [[Bitcoin city]] at the base of a volcano in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news|title=IMF urges El Salvador to remove Bitcoin as legal tender|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60135552|work=BBC News|date=26 January 2022}}</ref>
In March 2024, BitCoin's value has rebounded, exceeding its previous high value to over US$64,700.

In 2022, Salvadoran government initiated a massive [[2022 Salvadoran gang crackdown|fight against criminal gangs]] and gang-related violence. State of emergency was declared on 27 March. It was extended on 20 July. More than 53,000 suspected gang members were arrested.<ref>{{cite news|title=El Salvador gangs: State of emergency extended again|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62205981|work=BBC News|date=20 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ending El Salvador's Cycle of Gang Violence|url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013210602/https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/10/ending-el-salvadors-cycle-gang-violence|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 October 2022|website=United States Institute of Peace}}</ref> This has resulted in significant declines in homicide, extortion, and other gang-related crimes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Inside El Salvador's brutal gang crackdown|url=https://unherd.com/2023/01/inside-el-salvadors-brutal-gang-crackdown|work=unHerd|date=11 January 2023}}</ref>

In January 2024, it was announced that the homicide rate dropped nearly 70% year over year, with 495 homicides in 2022 compared to 154 in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |title=Drastic drop in murders caused the popularity of El Salvador's president to soar {{!}} Semafor |url=https://www.semafor.com/article/01/04/2024/drastic-drop-in-murders-caused-the-popularity-of-el-salvadors-president-to-soar |work=www.semafor.com |date=4 January 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

On 4 February 2024, President Nayib Bukele, won re-election with 83% of the vote in [[2024 Salvadoran general election|general election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador: Bukele confirmed as president after final count – DW – 02/10/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-bukele-confirmed-as-president-after-final-count/a-68222384 |work=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> His party Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) won 58 of the El Salvador parliament's 60 seats.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador votes must be recounted, says electoral court – DW – 02/06/2024 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/el-salvador-votes-must-be-recounted-says-electoral-court/a-68181487 |work=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>  On 1 June 2024, President Nayib Bukele was sworn in for the second five-year term.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador's 'all-powerful' gang-busting President Bukele sworn in for second term |url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20240601-el-salvador-s-all-powerful-gang-busting-president-bukele-sworn-in-for-second-term |work=France 24 |date=1 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

As of February 2025, El Salvador had the highest prisoner rate worldwide, with over 1,600 prisoners per 100,000 of the national population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most prisoners per capita by country 2025 {{!}} Statista |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/ |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref> El Salvador’s [[Terrorism Confinement Center|Cecot]] mega-prison, officially called the Center for Terrorism Confinement, is considered the largest prison in the Americas with a capacity of 40,000 inmates. The incarcerations have been part of president Bukele’s efforts to reduce high crime rates and gang violence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rios |first1=Michael |title=What we know about El Salvador’s ‘mega prison’ where Trump is sending alleged Venezuelan gang members |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/17/americas/el-salvador-prison-trump-deportations-gangs-intl-latam/index.html |work=CNN |date=17 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In March 2025, the United States transferred more than 200 immigrants, alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, to be imprisoned in El Salvador.<ref>{{cite news |title=US deports over 200 Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador despite court ban |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/16/venezuelan-immigrants-deported-to-el-salvador-despite-us-court-ban |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In 2024, the amount of homicides in El Salvador was record low. The 1.9 homicides per 100,000 in population  put it below any other  Latin American country.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Salvador closes 2024 with a record low number of homicides |url=https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-homicides-gangs-bukele-69384a8705267eaddd18dcd28a53465b |work=AP News |date=1 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref>