Central America Archive

“CICIES! CICIES!” the crowds chanted at the inauguration of El Salvador’s new president, Nayib Bukele, on June 1. Salvadorans had a message for the members of the Legislative Assembly, too, whom they booed. “Give us back what you have stolen!” Implementing “CICIES”—an international commission against impunity in El Salvador—was the key campaign promise that helped the 37-year-old Bukele win the presidency in February. More than half the population believes that Bukele’s administration will fight corruption within the Salvadoran government, according to polls. The name CICIES is directly inspired by its counterpart next door, the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, […]

Last year, Nicaragua looked like it might slide into civil war. Facing mass protests, President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, responded with repression and violence that only added fury to demonstrators’ demands. One year later, it is clear the two have survived the greatest challenge so far to their move to remain in power indefinitely. But their legitimacy is shattered, the country’s economy is in shambles, and the worst may be yet to come. If all goes according to Ortega’s plan, the protests that started in April 2018 will formally come to an end within a […]

Guatemalans vote Sunday in what looks like one of the most unpredictable elections in their country’s recent history. Across an extremely fragmented field, a total of 19 candidates, whittled down from the original 24, are competing for the presidency. Nearly two dozen political parties are also chasing seats in the 160-seat, single-chamber Congress and in 340 municipalities around the country, which, with a population of more 17 million, is the largest in Central America—and where a landmark fight against corruption has taken a U-turn. In a field otherwise skewed to the center and to the right, opinion polls favor former […]