A populist candidate has won a decisive victory to become El Salvador’s new president, delivering a blow to the country’s two dominant political parties that have held power since the end of the country’s civil war.
Though supporters of 37 year old Nayib Bukele have expressed optimism the newly elected president will bring an end to poverty and gang violence, critics say he has articulated no overarching vision for how he plans to tackle the country’s major problems.
Left wing essayist and political analyst Pablo Benitez says Bukele’s campaign lacked substance, which makes it hard to imagine he will have a government with a solid perspective for the future.