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Bukele replaces Uribe as inspiration for the right in Colombia

2023-03-19T10:40:41.400Z


Admiration for the president of El Salvador grows among figures like María Fernanda Cabal while Petro looks for him as an enemy


A name of Arab origin has entered fully into Colombian politics.

Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, makes his way as a new representative of polarization.

At the same time, the figure of Álvaro Uribe, who until now had occupied that position, has faded in recent times.

Among the opposition there is no leader to relieve him either.

The good and strange relationship between the former president and Gustavo Petro has left an empty space for the antagonist, necessary for a figure like Petro, who grew politically from the confrontation with Uribism.

The young Salvadoran autocrat has filled that space with gusto.

The president of Colombia already has someone to fight with and the most radical right has found someone to exalt.

Bukele lets himself be loved: "I think I'll go on vacation to Colombia," he said on Twitter.

The first to name the Salvadoran was Petro himself, although his words could have gone unnoticed.

In an act in Bogotá, the president referred to the security policy of his Central American counterpart: "The president of El Salvador feels proud because he reduced the homicide rate based on, he says, subjugation of the gangs that are operating today. in those jails, in my opinion, Dantesque”.

Bukele posted the video on his Twitter profile: "The results weigh more than rhetoric," he replied.

There the ban was opened.

He began an exchange of messages on the social network that is maintained over the days.

The attacks between the two have been increasing.

In one of them, Bukele questions the Colombian: “I don't understand his obsession with El Salvador.

Isn't his son the one who makes pacts under the table and also for money?

Everything is good at home?".

A low blow against Petro, who days before had asked the Prosecutor's Office to open an investigation into his own son for corruption.

Nicolás Petro is being targeted by the courts for allegedly using his last name to keep money for his father's presidential campaign.

Petro, known for his love of tweeting and not avoiding puddles, responded defiantly: “Dear President Nayib, everything is fine in my house.

Here there is the presumption of innocence, a universal principle.

Here the president does not remove judges or magistrates;

he fights for a more autonomous and stronger justice.

Here in Colombia we deepen democracy, we do not destroy it”.

This has gone on for several days.

This same Thursday, although without citing Bukele, Petro referred to Salvadoran prisons as "concentration camps."

The vein was served for the right, so orphaned of leaders since the last elections, where the traditional parties did not even reach the second round.

The first to enter the battle in defense of Bukele was María Fernanda Cabal, a senator from the most radical wing of Uribismo.

“President Nayib Bukele, Gustavo Petro never built a school, let alone a university.

What he did do was promote drug consumption centers, instead of rehabilitating addicts.

He was referring to his time as mayor of the capital.

Days later, the conservative magazine Semana dedicated its cover to the president of El Salvador.

"The miracle Bukele", he titled.

A religious reference for a man who already presents himself to his people as an "instrument of God."

The publication narrates the presidential career of the 41-year-old president, deliberately omitting some important details.

For example, he limits himself to saying that he is running for re-election, but does not say that the Constitution prohibits it.

He also does not explain his authoritarian drift, his bossing around justice, his abuses against human rights under one sole purpose: to end the gangs.

In just two weeks,

Semana

has published more than 15 news about the Salvadoran.

The Bukele phenomenon that is now landing in Colombian politics is not unique.

Beyond its overwhelming popularity in El Salvador due to the spectacular drop in violence, which exceeds 90%, its perfectly choreographed videos circulate in far-right whastapp chats in all Latin American countries and even in Spain.

A heavy-handed policy that generates as much attraction in some as rejection in others.

An episode already known in Colombia, in which the reduction of violence is prioritized over the health of democracy.

Countries like Costa Rica have already announced that they will copy the Bukele model.

International organizations have called attention to the abuses in the country, which has increased their propaganda policy.

In the videos that are broadcast, with ambient music and cinematographic shots, thousands of gang members are seen subdued, handcuffed and dressed in white underwear, during their transfer to the maximum security super prison that Bukele inaugurated a month ago.

A prison with space for 40,000 prisoners, which would make it the largest in the world.

Senator Cabal has already turned her security policy into a political commitment: “I promise that we will replicate the Bukele model in Colombia so that children can grow up with their parents.

We are not going to forgive bandits and we are not going to give impunity,” she said on Twitter.

The right has a new idol.

The president has already found an enemy.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2023-03-19

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