On 30 July, the Archbishop of San Salvador, José Luis Escobar, called on the government to release “the innocent” among the country’s record-high prison population (on a per capita basis, one of the highest in the world). Yet President Nayib Bukele is unlikely to make many concessions: his ultra-hard line anti-crime policies are proving wildly popular. According to a survey by think tank Directorio Legislativo, he is now the most popular head of state in Latin America with a 91% approval rating, ahead of Mexico’s Andrés Manuel López Obrador with 64% and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with 56%. This has led some to conclude that re-election early next year is inevitable.
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