Nayib Bukele attacks the West on the grounds of values. The president of El Salvadorboth praised and criticized for its relentless security policy, criticized the moral double standards of Western countries by reacting to two publications on the X platform.
The first, from the United Kingdom Prosecution Service, was relayed by the British government. This is a campaign warning social media users of the consequences of messages they may post. “Think before you publish!” Content that incites violence or hatred is not only harmful, it may be illegal”can we read on this publication. “The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) takes online violence seriously and will take legal action when the legal conditions are met. Remind your loved ones to share this information, otherwise there will be consequences”continues the British Prosecution Service.
A warning which did not please Nayib Bukele at all. “The West will never again lecture us on democracy, human rights or freedom of expression”he lambasted, Thursday October 2, on X, believing that the CPS message constituted implicit censorship towards users.
This Saturday, October 4, the President of El Salvador added: “I already said it two days ago, but: the West will never again lecture us on human rights”. The cause of his anger, this time, is the publication of a press article reporting the first successful heart transplant in the world from a patient euthanized in Canada. The heart of a 38-year-old man with Charcot disease was reactivated seven minutes after his death, before being transported to the United States and transplanted. “This marks a terrifying new frontier in euthanasia organ donation, where Canada is now a world leader”writes the user whose message was re-shared by Nayib Bukele.
“I would rather be called a dictator than see gangs killing Salvadorans in the streets”
With these two messages, the Salvadoran president wanted to respond to Westerners who regularly criticize him for his policies deemed contrary to human rights. At the heart of the criticism: its merciless security policy against crime, having led to the imprisonment of tens of thousands of criminals, but also hundreds of innocent people according to NGOs. This strategy allowed the country to drastically reduce the number of homicides, from 87 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019 to 2.41 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
Last June, during a speech to the nation, he had already brushed aside the criticism of which he was the target: “I don’t care if people call me a dictator. I would rather be called a dictator than see gangs killing Salvadorans in the streets. » Before attacking NGOs: “We cannot touch human rights defenders. Any corrupt opponent who is imprisoned is a political persecuted person. Working in an NGO today is synonymous with impunity. »
