El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele’s hard-line security policies have contributed to a dramatic decline in homicides and extortion in El Salvador, but at a very high cost to human rights and democratic freedoms. Despite that, many in the region see this as a model to emulate and are vowing to implement similar policies. Is Bukelismo the wave of the future throughout the region? How should those who disagree with Bukele’s strategy react and provide an antidote within the boundaries of the rule of law? Tamara Taraciuk Broner, deputy Americas director at Human Rights Watch, answers these and other questions in this week’s episode.
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Guests:
Tamara Taraciuk Broner is acting Americas director at Human Rights Watch.
Brian Winter is AQ’s editor-in-chief.
Supplemental reading:
Countering El Salvador’s Democratic Backsliding by Tamara Taraciuk Broner and Noah Bullock
Nayib Bukele’s Growing List of Latin American Admirers by Will Freeman
AQ Podcast: Is Bukele or Boric the Future of Latin American Politics?
It’s Not Just El Salvador. Democracies Are Weakening Across Central America by Patricio Navia and Lucas Perelló
AQ Podcast: From El Salvador to Mexico and Brazil, Democracies Under Pressure