El Salvador: Bukele Begins Third Term After Supreme Court Ruling; Critics Allege Constitutional Crisis

SAN SALVADOR — El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele was sworn in Monday for a second consecutive five-year term following a contested Supreme Court ruling last month that cleared the way for his re-election despite a constitutional ban on immediate succession. Thousands of supporters gathered outside the national assembly in San Salvador, while opposition leaders boycotted the ceremony and called the entire process “a constitutional coup.”

The court’s March ruling struck down Article 152 of the constitution, which bars presidents from serving consecutive terms, in a 4-1 decision that drew immediate condemnation from the OAS, the U.S. State Department, and human rights groups including Amnesty International. Bukele’s New Ideas party holds 52 of 60 assembly seats, giving him the votes to push through enabling legislation without opposition support. Critics say the ruling effectively eliminates presidential term limits permanently.

Bukele used his inaugural address to double down on the gang crackdown that has seen more than 83,000 people detained under his emergency powers since 2022. “We will not apologize for security,” he told the crowd. Gang homicide rates have dropped sharply, though rights groups say the detentions have swept up thousands of civilians with no connection to criminal organizations. The U.S. has maintained travel advisory warnings for El Salvador while continuing to accept deportations of Salvadoran migrants.