Salvador or authoritarian? El Salvador's 'millennial' president challenges courts and Congress in response to coronavirus

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El Salvador: Bukele, in controversy with the Supreme Court 2:49

(CNN) -  Few world leaders have generated as much criticism and praise - many times at the same time - for handling the coronavirus pandemic as Nayib Bukele, President of El Salvador.

Although Bukele has been in office for a little over a year, in March he made the drastic decision to close his country's borders even before the first coronavirus case was reported there, arguing that the Central American nation had to get ahead of the outbreak.

• READ: Bukele announces that it will sue the Legislative Assembly and the Constitutional Chamber before the IACHR

Some Salvadorans praise him for taking decisive action that may have saved his small country from the worst impacts of the coronavirus. Others point out that he is becoming an authoritarian man who violates his own country's constitution, more recently now that he is arguing with the Supreme Court and the Legislative Assembly about how soon El Salvador will reopen.

The fact that Bukele, 38, is in office remains a surprise to many Salvadorans.

He is the first president since the end of El Salvador's civil war in 1992 that does not belong to either of the country's two main political parties.

Bukele's paternal grandparents were Palestinian immigrants to Salvadoran territory, and he launched into the presidency as an out-of-establishment millennial, in leather jackets, and a social media expert who would shake things up in a nation worn by endless corruption and the horrible violence of the gangs.

"Bukele is very focused on accomplishing what he believes should be done, and has little patience with his critics or with institutions that oppose, slow down, or limit his ability to act," said Geoff Thale, president of the Washington Office for Affairs. Latin Americans, in an email interview with CNN.

"He has used social media to attack his critics, including journalists. He has repeatedly attacked the Legislative Assembly, which is dominated by the two traditional political parties, which are hostile to him. "

Skill in social networks

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele takes a selfie during his speeches at the United Nations General Assembly.

With almost two million followers on Twitter and polls that often show more than 90% approval, Bukele has broken the traditional mold of politicians in his country and has drawn international attention.

In 2019, Bukele recognized his country's responsibility for the conditions that have led migrants to flee, after the death of a Salvadoran father and his two-year-old daughter were known, who drowned on the banks of the Rio Grande.

Before giving his first speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Bukele asked the audience to wait a moment and took a selfie. Then he said that the photo would have more impact than the words he had prepared.

• LOOK: Nayib Bukele at the UN: the speech, the selfie and the iPhone that everyone is talking about

But before the coronavirus outbreak, some critics in El Salvador warned that Bukele's disruptive style increasingly eroded the separation of powers and threatened the country's fragile democracy.

Disagreements with the Legislative Assembly

Soldiers of the Special Forces of the Army of El Salvador, following the orders of President Nayib Bukele, enter the congress upon the arrival of the legislators, in San Salvador, on Sunday, February 9, 2020.

In February, as Bukele demanded that the country's legislators approve a $ 109 million loan to better equip the police and soldiers, heavily armed troops stormed the Legislative Assembly under his command, which many in El Salvador saw as a shameless attempt at intimidation and a return to the era when political violence dominated the country.

The Legislative Assembly rejected the pressure campaign and the incident affected Bukele's image abroad, although the Trump government - which considers Bukele an ally in immigration matters and its strategy in Venezuela - did not condemn his actions.

In March, the spread of the coronavirus offered Bukele another chance to act boldly or, as his critics claim, focus more power.

After closing the borders, Bukele implemented strict quarantine measures, but also allocated food and money to impoverished Salvadorans.

He ordered the military to arrest people who violated the new measures, sending thousands to government "quarantine centers".

• LEE: Tension in two coronavirus containment centers in El Salvador

When the Supreme Court declared the arrests to be unconstitutional and ordered that they be suspended, Bukele refused and the soldiers remained on the streets.

"5 people are not going to decide the death of hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans," Bukele wrote on Twitter about the court ruling. And then he added: "It is one thing to interpret the Constitution, another very different thing is to order the death of the people."

It is one thing to interpret the Constitution, quite another to order the death of the people.

The Chamber does not have powers to implement or remove sanitary measures, nor to decide on epidemiological contentions.

- Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 16, 2020

According to the Johns Hopkins account of the coronavirus, to date 1,640 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in El Salvador, with 32 deaths attributed to the virus.

Fight gangs

After a spike in gang violence in April, Bukele tweeted that the police and army had the authority to respond as they saw fit, and his government released photos of dozens of gang members shirtless and forced to sit on top of each other. the other in prison, despite the dangers of further spreading the virus.

"I think it was very unpleasant, I suppose it was his way of showing off to people who has the power," said Will, a former member of the Barrio 18 gang in El Salvador, who started a community gang program through a local church. and it's still covered in tattoos that gangs in Central America often used to identify their affiliation.

Will asked that his last name not be disclosed for fear that security forces might pursue him as a former gang member. El Salvador has been shattered by decades of uncontrolled gang violence, making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

The government's strict response to the pandemic has halted the church group's efforts to convince gang members to seek a new life, Will said.

"The government does not know how to identify the root of the problem, and continues to shoot at everything that moves, so we are very affected," Will wrote to CNN on Facebook Messenger. "I can't even leave without worrying about what kind of police are going to arrest me knowing that they have a license to kill now if they feel threatened," he added.

• MIRA: The President of El Salvador authorizes the use of deadly force against gang members and imposes strict measures in high-security prisons

Despite feeling that a target was put on his back, Will said he understood Bukele's popularity among many Salvadorans.

"Some say we are losing our democracy," wrote the former gang member, "but to be honest, it seems like he is thinking about the people and has done things that have never been done for people before, especially low-income people. "

Confrontation over the reopening of the country

The battle over who has the power to decide the terms of the quarantine in El Salvador will likely continue as long as the virus is.

Bukele has said he wants the country to start reopening on June 6, but lawmakers in the House have said it must happen sooner.

On Monday, the country's Supreme Court disavowed Bukele, saying he did not have the power to extend anti-coronavirus measures and urged the Legislative Assembly and the president to work together to reopen the country.

But even when congressmen introduced the bill to immediately lift the quarantine, Bukele said it would not become law.

Another showdown seems to be in progress with lawmakers seeking to pre-empt a president who is determined to use all of his powers and more to stop them.

This is a law that seeks the massive contagion of Salvadorans. You just have to read these types of articles to check it.

History will remember them, for this infamy.

Thank God I can VETAR it.

Unless @SalaCnalSV wants to take away that faculty too.

- Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 19, 2020

"This is a law that seeks mass contagion from Salvadorans," Bukele wrote on Twitter. "Thank God I can VETAR it."

Nayib Bukele