A video from the official page of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele reveals a dramatic transformation of the smallest yet most densely populated country in Central America since he assumed office in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024 with a landslide 85% of the vote.
Historically, El Salvador was labeled the "Murder Capital of the World," reaching a crisis point in 2015 with a murder rate of 103 per 100,000 people, largely due to powerful criminal gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 that virtually controlled the cities.
Bukele initiated the Territorial Control Plan (PCT) and declared a state of emergency in March 2022. His tit-for-tat Mano Dura (Iron Fist) policy granted authorities the power to suspend some civil rights, resulting in the arrest of over 81,000 suspected gang members without formal charges.
The outcome was a significant drop in murder rates, making 2022-2023 the safest period in El Salvador’s history since the end of its civil war in 1992.
Currently, official statistics show El Salvador is safer than many countries in North and Latin America, including some cities in the United States and Canada. Citizens can freely walk in parks at night or live in formerly gang-controlled areas without fear.
With security restored, the economy and tourism have boomed. El Salvador has rebranded itself as a land of surfing, volcanoes, and coffee, and developed Bitcoin Beach, attracting crypto enthusiasts after becoming the first country to legalize Bitcoin for payments.
Tourism data from the Ministry of Tourism indicates that in 2025, El Salvador welcomed 4.1 million international tourists, a 5% increase from 3.9 million in 2024, making it the fastest-growing destination in the Americas. Notably, over 83% of visitors stayed overnight, generating significant economic revenue.
El Salvador has also gained global attention by hosting the Miss Universe pageant in 2023. In 2025, it hosted five major surfing competitions and two golf championships, and is preparing to host the WSL Championship Tour this year.
This growth has been accompanied by large infrastructure projects, including road improvements, the Pacific Airport, and the Pacific Train system. International hotel chains such as JW Marriott and Hilton, along with many boutique hotels, have opened or are under construction to accommodate future tourist influxes.
For admirers of the "Bukele Miracle," El Salvador represents a model of populist authoritarianism in Latin America. However, civil society organizations warn of human rights violations under the state of emergency, including suspended freedoms of assembly, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and torture.
Lawyers in El Salvador report thousands of innocent people have become victims of the crackdown without recourse to justice. Yet, for Bukele’s government, these appear as collateral effects of flagship policies aimed at national security. Bukele dismisses international criticism over democracy concerns, viewing the previous weak system as corrupt and a root cause of gang proliferation.
El Salvador’s next steps will be a crucial test of its direction. Last year, Bukele’s party passed legal reforms extending presidential terms from five to six years, eliminating runoff elections, and enabling indefinite re-election.
These reforms not only determine the fate of El Salvador’s six million citizens but may also reverberate throughout neighboring countries, as the Bukele Miracle could become a political model shaping Latin America’s future.
/References/TIME,Atlas Institute
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