El Salvador’s Bukele has everyone’s attention as he seeks reelection in spite of the constitution

By MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press

SAN SALVADOR (AP) — To many, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele is a national hero who took on the country’s violent gangs with an unrelenting hand. To others, the populist is a 21st century autocrat who has committed mass human rights abuses and has altered the rules of the game to concentrate power in his own hands. Love him or hate him, Bukele has captured the world’s attention in a way few other Latin American leaders have in recent times. Now, the self-described “world’s coolest dictator” is likely to easily skate into a second presidential term in El Salvador’s election Sunday. After sidestepping El Salvador’s constitution prohibiting reelection in six different places, Bukele has the support of about nine out of 10 voters, according to recent polling.