Most Salvadorans support Bukele’s emergency regime against gangs

The majority of Salvadorans support the president’s emergency regime Nayib Bukele as a strategy to combat gangs, but a large part disagrees with suspending constitutional guarantees, according to a study presented on Monday by the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA).

“There is a favorable opinion that has grown over time. The score that, on average, people give to the exception regime on a scale of 0 to 10 is 8.13″said at a press conference the vice-rector of Social Projection of the UCA, Omar Serrano.

The university, run by Jesuits, is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country that maintains a critical attitude towards the president’s government. Bukele and periodically publishes independent investigations on the economic, political and human rights situation.

The study presented on Monday is the second survey by the UCA about the exception regime, which came into force in March 2022 as a tough measure against crime and gangs in El Salvador.

Regarding the trust that Salvadorans have in the president’s management Bukelethe rating given by citizens is 8.68 on a scale of 0 to 10.

In February, the Salvadoran president ran for reelection—despite being prohibited in the country’s Constitution—and won with more than 84% of the votes.

According to the investigation of the UCAwhen evaluating the second year of implementation of the exception regime, only 9 out of every 100 Salvadorans say they do not feel benefited.

But Vice Chancellor Serrano indicated that citizen approval of the emergency regime is largely fueled by people’s ignorance of the constitutional guarantees that have been suspended.

When explaining to those interviewed what the suspension of rights consists of, 65% said they did not agree that arrests should be made without a court order and 63% said that they did not have the right to defense, while 71% did not agree. agree to extending the detention period.

“92% disagree with suspending at least one of the constitutional rights”Serrano stated.

Since the approval of the emergency regime, security forces can intervene in telecommunications without a court order and prolong detention without a court hearing from 72 hours to 15 days. Furthermore, a person can be detained without being informed of the reasons for the arrest and does not have the right to access a defense lawyer.

Last week, the Salvadoran government reported that during the validity of the exception, 79,211 people have been detained for alleged ties to gangs. More than 90% of them are in prison without a sentence against them.

Six human rights organizations recently presented a report in which they recorded 6,305 violations of the population’s human rights and detailed cases of arbitrary detentions, forced displacement and deaths in prisons.

The NGO Legal Aid indicated in a report at the beginning of April that during the two years of the emergency regime, at least 241 people have died in prison, which “44% died from violent death, severe torture” and a “29% due to lack of medical care, that is, another way of torturing people.”

The investigation of the UCA He also noted that “It is alarming that a quarter of the Salvadoran population has witnessed or been a victim of abuse” by police or military elements during the last year of the measure’s validity.

However, 72% of those interviewed said that they do not feel any fear about the emergency regime, although the majority “be more careful” by sharing your opinion with others.

According to the government, the tough policy against gangs is reflected in the fact that violence in El Salvador has decreased considerably since 2015, when more than 6,665 homicides were recorded and the country was considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

In 2023, the country closed with 214 murders, including 38 deaths of alleged gang members who died in alleged confrontations with police and armed forces. So far in 2024, there have been 34 homicides, including two newborn children, according to official data.