LatinNews Daily - 16 November 2023

* El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has inaugurated a new US$54m national library (Binaes) in the capital, San Salvador, which the government describes as a donation from China. The new library, which spans 24,000m² and will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, is among the works carried out in El Salvador with cooperation from China with which El Salvador established relations in 2018 after breaking ties with Taiwan. Other projects include a new national stadium, whose construction Bukele announced in December 2021 according to a report published on 17 October on the US Southern Command’s Diálogo website which adds that “work seemingly began in December 2022, although no progress has been made”.  Another work with China’s cooperation is the construction of a new dock in the port of La Libertad. Diálogo website cites Eny Aguiñada, president of El Salvador’s tourism institute (ISTUSV) as saying that “it is expected to be inaugurated before the end of 2023.” The same report also cites Javier Meléndez, director of Expediente Abierto, a Central American think tank on defence, transparency, and human rights, as saying that “between donations and loans there are less than 10 [projects] underway or recently completed. All have or had significant delays and are marked by corruption scandals or are onerous loans in which the Chinese are asking for a lot”.