El Salvador’s president eyes re-election on back of gang crackdown

There was no doubting Francisco Villegas’ political colours as he stepped off his flight into El Salvador.

Draped in a flag bearing President Nayib Bukele’s face, he was dressed in light blue – the colour of the ruling party, Nuevas Ideas.

“We’re going to win!” he yelled, to cheers and applause from a small crowd of people waiting for their relatives outside the arrivals lounge.

Like thousands of Salvadorans living abroad, Francisco is such a staunch supporter of El Salvador’s controversial president that he travelled back from his home in Pennsylvania specifically to vote for him.

“Quite honestly, in the past I didn’t care who won,” he says. “But I’ve seen the changes in five years and I thought I’d make the effort to come and support him. It’s been a 180-degree shift. I feel so safe here now.”

In the run up to Sunday’s election, Mr Bukele’s campaign spots have featured bereaved relatives of victims of the country’s two main gangs, the MS-13 and the 18th Street gang.

Credit: bbc.com

The post El Salvador’s president eyes re-election on back of gang crackdown appeared first on The Chronicle News Online.

Read Full Story