The Republic of El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, with an area of ​​21,041 km² and an estimated population of 6,486,023. Ecuador is ten times its size and about three times its population.

The atavistic problems of violence, insecurity, extreme poverty, family breakdown, etc., are the same ones that overwhelm our countries, the difficulties of survival have forced us to take shortcuts like in El Salvador, in gangs they have found a way to perpetuate themselves and to justify their social situation exclusion, they are young people between the ages of 16 and 30 who have left the school system, come from dysfunctional homes, with an aggressive attitude and are ready to take any risk, including their lives.

For more than three decades, El Salvador has lived under the presence of the maras, ultra-violent criminal groups, who for most of the last decade ranked it among the most dangerous countries in the world, registering 6,656 murders in 2015, with a rate of 106 violent deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Ecuador does not need Bukela, mercenaries or dictators, but a democratic, honest statesman, a firm leader…

Nayid Bukele assumed office as President of El Salvador on June 1, 2019, for a five-year term ending in 2024. On June 20, 2019, Bukele, the former mayor of San Salvador, aware of the dangers of gangs, announced the launch of the Territorial Control Plan, which allowed him to strengthen the police and armed forces in an effort to combat the high crime and gang rates in your country; In 2020, he authorized the military and police to use lethal weapons against gangs.

Bukele has declared war on criminal gangs and since March 2022 a state of emergency has been in place allowing arrests without warrants, several constitutional rights have been suspended, and around 60,000 people have been imprisoned; Seen this way, obviously, the results are positive, in 2019 the rate of violent deaths fell to 36, ​​​​​​​​​​​​ it is estimated at 19.7, in 2021 at 17.6, and in 2022 at 7.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Bukele used his popularity to further consolidate his control over all the powers of the state, after changing the constitutional rules of the game that prohibited re-election, he is preparing to run for elections scheduled for February 2024; describes himself as “the coolest dictator in the world”.

Each country lives a different reality, El Salvador is threatened by dangerous gangs; On the other hand, in our country, organized crime and drug trafficking are international threats that have crossed our borders, with the presence of cartels that manage huge amounts of resources, thousands of dollars, sophisticated weapons, aircraft, drones, speedboats, semi-submarines, etc., with the capacity contamination of state structures, co-opting of authorities, judges, army, police and, above all, young people who easily join their criminal organizations.

Ecuador does not need Bukela, mercenaries or dictators, but an honest, democratic statesman, a leader who will make firm decisions and urgently solve the painful demands of the people. (OR)