Weekly Report - 05 August 2021 (WR-21-31)

A massive model of a gorilla consumed by flames in San Salvador was the most eye-catching element of the march staged by students and academics from the Universidad de El Salvador (UES) to mark the 46^th anniversary of the massacre and disappearance of students from the state university by members of the armed forces on 30 July. The burning of the gorilla, a symbol denoting the military in El Salvador, is an annual ritual but this year it was also designed to represent President Nayib Bukele, who students accuse of presiding over a massive increase in the size of the armed forces in order to buttress his authoritarian Nuevas Ideas government, while perpetuating impunity for past crimes committed by the military.

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