Trading criminality for autocracy: El Salvador

<p>A country that was not long ago gripped by gang violence and crime is slowly emerging from fear, thanks to a <a href="https://www.economist.com/films/2023/07/21/inside-el-salvadors-war-on-crime" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">brutal roundup</a> of young men by a wildly popular, social-media-savvy <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/07/20/nayib-bukele-shows-how-to-dismantle-a-democracy-and-stay-popular" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">president</a>. The streets may be safer, but now it is El Salvador’s democracy that is in danger—and neighbouring countries’ leaders may take lessons from its budding <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/07/20/what-the-worlds-budding-autocrats-are-learning-from-el-salvador?utm_campaign=a.io&amp;utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&amp;utm_source=theintelligence&amp;utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&amp;utm_term=sa.listeners" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">autocrat</a>.</p><p>For full access to print, digital and audio editions of <em>The Economist</em>, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to <a href="https://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a></p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>