El Salvador’s legislature on Friday voted to eliminate term limits for its president, along with a series of other reforms.
President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party, which dominates the country’s legislature, approved several constitutional reforms that would allow indefinite presidential reelections while extending presidential terms from five to six years, according to The Associated Press.
Lawmaker Ana Figueroa introduced the proposal, which also eliminates the presidential runoff system. Now, instead of requiring a second round of voting in elections in which no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote, a presidential candidate can win the race with only a plurality of votes.
Figueroa defended the proposal, pointing out, "All of them have had the possibility of reelection through popular vote, the only exception until now has been the presidency.” The law would move the end of Bukele’s term from 2029 to 2027, which allows him to seek reelection for a longer term sooner. Fifty-seven lawmakers voted for the measure while three voted against it.
🚨Just in: The party of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has approved a constitutional changes in the country’s National Assembly that will allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend presidential terms to six years pic.twitter.com/9AYYmUixRj
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) August 1, 2025
However, some have criticized the outcome, arguing that it portends a rapid decline in democratic norms in El Salvador. Lawmaker Marcela Villatoro declared, “Democracy in El Salvador has died!” She insisted that doing away with term limits “brings an accumulation of power and weakens democracy,” The Associated Press reported.
Bukele, who called himself “the world’s coolest dictator,” maintains high popularity in the country due to his crackdown on gangs. However, he has also received criticism from human rights groups accusing him of repression, corruption, and authoritarianism.
The president has had success in reducing crime in El Salvador. In 2019, when he first took office, the country recorded 2,398 homicides, which translated to a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people. To provide some perspective, the homicide rate in the United States is 6.8 per 100,000 people. For Mexico, which is dominated by violent drug cartels, the homicide rate is 19.3 per 100,000 people.
By 2024, the homicide rate plummeted to 1.9 per 100,000 people — lower than Canada’s rate.
Still, concerns remain about the El Salvadoran government’s approach toward human rights. Under an emergency declaration, the Bukele administration's suspension of constitutional protections has led to a series of rights violations.
Reuters reported that since March 2022, more than 85,000 people representing two percent of the nation’s population have been detained, with 75,000 remaining in custody as of 2024. This means El Salvador has the world’s highest incarceration rate.
🚨HOLY COW: El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has reacted to activist judges constantly trying to block Trump:
— Carter Hughes (@itscarterhughes) July 25, 2025
"That’s exactly what judges were doing in El Salvador in 2021… So we impeached them all and then proceeded to fix the country." pic.twitter.com/2ke2Ks96Fv
In many cases, people have been arrested even with a lack of evidence. Law enforcement profiles people based on criteria such as tattoos, clothing, low-wage jobs, and residence in areas with heavy gang activity. Human Rights Watch estimated that one in six detainees is innocent. Hundreds of children — some as young as 12 — have been detained without due process.
Even further, there were at least 354 deaths among people held in custody as of mid-2024. These deaths are attributed to malnutrition, lack of medical care, and physical abuse. There have been many allegations of torture involving beatings, electric shocks, and prolonged solitary confinement — especially in the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).
CECOT inmates reportedly face overcrowding. They are forced to live in less than two feet of cell space per person. They receive only four ounces of rice and one tortilla each day, with no sunlight or access to medical help. At least two infants died in custody because of neglect, while several pregnant women have miscarried.
Bukele’s administration has denied any systemic abuse of inmates. It claims the deaths are due to natural causes. However, the government has blocked independent investigations, so it is unclear whether it is telling the truth.
Recent reports revealed that many of the Venezuelan illegal immigrants the US sent to El Salvador described physical and psychological torture.
Bukele’s government has also come under fire for targeting critics. Law enforcement has reportedly arrested over 100 activists, journalists, and attorneys. Others have been forced into exile.
The administration has been accused of engaging in widespread surveillance of journalists and activists. Police have been intimidating the families of critics, journalists, and activists. Many have been forced to flee the country because of the harassment.
Critics have also pointed to the administration’s lack of transparency. It has denied over 73 percent of public information requests.
Still, Bukele enjoys widespread popularity. A recent poll showed that he has an 85.2 percent approval rating as he completes his sixth year in office. Only 10.8 percent disapprove of his performance, an increase from 6.9 percent in 2024.