The self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator” is lauded by his people for making them feel safe in their own neighborhoods, however, President Bukele’s approval rating conceals his administration’s ignorance of past and future rural life in El Salvador. While President Bukele’s crackdown has provided short term success, his actions ignore El Salvador’s history of war and violence that motivates gang participation in the first place. Explicitly, Bukele’s mano dura (firm hand) policies have undermined impoverished communities more than they have helped them and centralization of state power has contributed to a democratic backsliding in El Salvador that exacerbates the class divide between industry elites and the rural population.

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