💥 Bukele’s crackdown, Amazon’s breakdown

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele has placed a 30% tax on foreign NGOs. And why preserving the Amazon does not depend solely on Brazil

EL SALVADOR

Bukele cracks down on NGOs after law on ‘foreign agents’

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Joey Sussman/Shutterstock

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador. Joey Sussman/Shutterstock

Nayib Bukele can measure the success of his hardline tactics against criminal gangs in several ways. Not only did El Salvador go from being one of the most violent countries in the world to having some of the lowest crime rates on the continent, Bukele also became the most popular leader in Latin America.

Re-elected to a new five-year term in 2024 with over 80% of votes, the president now has full control of Congress and the courts. But while his zero-tolerance approach is extremely popular among Salvadoran voters and even in other crime-ridden countries, his methods continue to draw criticism from international organizations, which denounce human rights violations and attacks on due process and press freedoms.

For years, Bukele has eyed foreign NGOs as political rivals, and he is now looking to take advantage of political momentum tohit them in their pockets, passing a law that imposes a 30% tax on their sources of funding. As the bill made its way through Congress, Bukele said the NGOs are “leftist, globalist groups whose only real objective is to attack the government”…

divider latam

🔒 This was a free preview; the rest is behind our paywall

Don’t miss out! Upgrade to unlock full access. The process takes only seconds with Apple Pay or Stripe. Become a member.

divider latam

Why you should subscribe

We’re here for readers who want to truly understand Brazil and Latin America — a region too often ignored or misrepresented by the international media.

Since 2017, our reporting has been powered by paid subscribers. They’re the reason we can keep a full-time team of 10 journalists across Brazil and Argentina, delivering sharp, independent coverage every day.

If you value our work, subscribing is the best way to keep it going — and growing.

Our annual plan goes for just USD 0.52 a day — but the value you'll get back from it is truly immeasurable. So… what’s stopping you from joining right now?

Reply

or to participate.