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It’s Not Just El Salvador. Democracies Are Weakening Across Central America.

By Patricio Navia, Lucas Perelló

Nayib Bukele isn’t the only reason to worry for regional democracies.

For much of Latin America, 2021 will be the year of vaccines and economic recovery. However, the big story for four countries in Central America is likely to be one of continued democratic backsliding. After his party won an unprecedented majority in El Salvador’s Feb. 28 legislative elections, President Nayib Bukele now looks set to forge ahead with his trademark style of demonizing the opposition and undermining his country’s young democratic institutions. Bukele’s trajectory echoes what has already happened in Nicaragua and Honduras, where elections have consolidated power for...

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