Nayib Bukele (b. 1981)

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Biography

Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 81st president of El Salvador since 2019.

In Their Own Words (1)

There is enough money when no one steals.

One of Bukele's 2019 electoral campaign slogans, cited in 2021 by Manuel Meléndez-Sánchez in Latin America Erupts: Millennial Authoritarianism in El Salvador , 2019

Timeline

The story of Nayib Bukele, told in moments.

2015 Event

Elected mayor of San Salvador at 33, running for the leftist FMLN party. He revitalizes the historic center, cleans up public spaces, and builds a social media following. The party establishment distrusts him. He doesn't need them.

Was revitalizing San Salvador's center the proof of concept? Did the FMLN distrusting you feel like their problem? Is social media your real political party?

2019 Event

Inaugurated as President of El Salvador at 37. His Twitter bio reads "Coolest dictator in the world." He means it as irony. Critics aren't sure. He declares a state of emergency to combat gangs. Mass arrests follow. Over 70,000 people detained.

Was 'coolest dictator in the world' irony or a warning? Does mass arrest of 70,000 people feel like justice? Is the state of emergency still temporary?

2021 Life

Makes Bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador. The first country to do so. He uses government funds to buy Bitcoin. The IMF objects. The price crashes. He buys more. He tweets about it constantly. The country's financial future is bet on a cryptocurrency.

Was making Bitcoin legal tender a bet on the future or a gamble with the present? Does the IMF objecting worry you? Is tweeting about buying more Bitcoin during a crash confident or reckless?

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