El Salvador: Cryptoauthoritarianism Is Still Authoritarianism
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 – 12:30–1:50pm CST
Zoom Webinar
José Marinero, President, Fundación Democracia, Transparencia y Justicia (DTJ)
Midway into the five-year presidency of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador might already be the most recently minted autocracy in the Americas. Behind the current hype around the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender, the Bukele administration has undermined constitutional checks and balances; constrained civic spaces; and strained the relationship with its largest economic partner, the United States—home to almost 3 million Salvadorans. Initially touting himself as the harbinger of a more democratic era for the country, Bukele´s brand of populism is reverting the modest rule of law gains achieved since the end of the Salvadoran civil war in 1992. With Bukele determined to remain in power after his presidential term ends in 2024, where is El Salvador´s democracy heading?
José Marinero is a Salvadoran attorney and lecturer. He is a founding member and the current president of Fundación Democracia, Transparencia y Justicia (DTJ), a leading advocate against the current democratic backsliding and closure of civic spaces in El Salvador. For over 20 years, Marinero has worked at the intersection of public law and policy, serving as a consultant, researcher, and public servant. He lectures at the graduate school of Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas in San Salvador, and is also a founding partner at Novis Estudio Legal, a Central American regional law firm.
Free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Chicago.
Natalie Arsenault, Associate Director, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Chicago