Alianza Americas expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation of the consolidation of authoritarianism in El Salvador, following the approval of the constitutional reform on July 31, 2025, which allows indefinite presidential re-election and irreversibly weakens democratic checks and balances. This measure, pushed through by a Legislative Assembly controlled by the ruling party, eliminates presidential term limits, extends the presidential term to six years, abolishes the second round of elections, and restructures the electoral calendar. The constitutional reform is designed to facilitate President Nayib Bukele’s indefinite hold on power.

These events are not isolated—they are the culmination of a process in which authoritarianism is advancing and the rule of law is collapsing. Since February 9, 2020, when the president entered the Legislative Assembly with armed soldiers to pressure lawmakers, the country has experienced a rapid institutional breakdown. In May 2021, after securing an absolute majority in Congress, the ruling party arbitrarily removed the justices of the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General, replacing them with figures loyal to the executive branch. This allowed for a reinterpretation of the Constitution in September of the same year to justify immediate presidential re-election, despite a clear constitutional prohibition.

The push toward absolute control has also involved a series of regressive electoral reforms, including reducing the number of municipalities and legislators, with the goal of concentrating power and limiting pluralistic representation. Furthermore, since 2023, a systematic strategy of political persecution has been implemented against those who dare to speak out or question the regime.

All of this has taken place under a state of exception declared in March 2022, following a massacre triggered by the breakdown of a secret pact between the government and gangs. Although security levels in the country have improved, arrests without warrants, indefinite pretrial detentions, denial of access to legal counsel or family visits have resulted in serious human rights violations—including mass detentions, trials without due process, and repression of critics, journalists, and human rights defenders. El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate per capita in the world, with over 80,000 people imprisoned. In addition, between 2021 and 2025, dozens of individuals have been forced into exile.

Alianza Americas issues a firm call to the Salvadoran community, both inside and outside the country, to raise their voices against the serious democratic backsliding taking place in El Salvador. The Peace Accords offered a historic opportunity to build a state based on rights and strong institutions, but that promise is now being dismantled. While we recognize that improved public safety is a legitimate demand, nothing justifies the concentration of power, the elimination of constitutional safeguards, or the repression of dissent. Security and freedom are not mutually exclusive—they are both essential for a dignified life.

We reaffirm our solidarity with all those who have been victims of authoritarianism, and we renew our commitment to defending democracy, human rights, and social justice in El Salvador and across the region.

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