El Salvador: Politics and Governance

El Salvador is a unitary presidential republic, with the President serving as both head of state and head of government, elected for a five-year term. The unicameral Legislative Assembly holds legislative power, and the judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of Justice, operating under a constitution that has been amended several times since the end of the civil war in 1992.

Since 2019, President Nayib Bukele has significantly reshaped Salvadoran politics, pursuing an aggressive anti-gang crackdown under a prolonged state of emergency that has dramatically reduced homicide rates while drawing international criticism over due process and human rights concerns. Bukele's party holds a supermajority in the Legislative Assembly, and constitutional changes have enabled him to pursue consecutive re-election, a departure from the country's post-war political norms.