US EditionUS Sides with El Salvador on Eliminating Presidential Term Limits, Prompting Democracy Debate | News Channel 3-12
EL SALVADOR, AUG 6 – The U.S. State Department supports El Salvador's constitutional reform allowing six-year presidential terms and indefinite reelection amid concerns over democratic erosion and human rights.
- On August 5, 2025, the Trump administration publicly backed El Salvador’s legislative reform allowing President Nayib Bukele indefinite reelection.
- Last week, Bukele's New Ideas party, which holds a supermajority in Congress, approved the reform with only three of 60 lawmakers opposing.
- On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department said `Legislative Assembly of El Salvador was democratically elected to advance the interests and policies of its constituents` and that `it is up to them to determine how their country should be governed`.
- Amid alarm, opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro warned `Democracy has died in El Salvador today` as civil society and international defenders raised concerns.
- This shift departs from the Joe Biden administration, which sanctioned Bukele's officials, as the U.S. State Department supports El Salvador's reform, despite around 40 journalists and defenders going into exile and several political prisoners including lawyer Ruth López.
30 Articles
30 Articles
Los Angeles Times
Independent EspañolArchbishop of San Salvador Expresses Himself Against Reforms that Allow for Presidential Re-Election
On Wednesday, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor José Luis Escobar Alas, asked the deputies of the Salvadoran Congress to reconsider the constitutional reforms that allow indefinite presidential re-election, as it is considered illegitimate.
The Hamilton Spectator
The Toronto StarTrump administration: El Salvador’s Bukele not a dictator
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Trump administration said El Salvador President Nayib Bukele should not be lumped together with leaders in other countries it considers dictatorships after his party and allies discarded presidential term limits.
Temple Daily Telegram
Trump administration: El Salvador's Bukele not a dictator
The Trump administration has defended El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, saying that its ally should not be compared to other leaders the United States has dubbed dictators. It comes after El Salvador’s Congress jammed through constitutional changes that would allow…
US sides with El Salvador on eliminating presidential term limits, prompting democracy debate
The US State Department has voiced rare support for El Salvador’s decision to abolish presidential term limits, paving the way for President Nayib Bukele to seek indefinite reelection. Critics argue the controversial move undermines democratic stability.
By Uriel Blanco, CNN en Español The United States government said it rejects comparing the legislative process in El Salvador, which enabled unrestricted reelection and clears the way for new terms for President Nayib Bukele, with "illegitimate dictatorial regimes." The US position comes after El Salvador's Legislative Assembly last week approved reforms to the Constitution, thereby enabling Bukele, the current president of the Central American …
President Nayib Bukele has lacked time to echo, in his X account, the US reaction to the criticisms the Salvadoran president has received following the express constitutional reform approved by the Salvadoran Parliament, with a ruling majority, which will allow indefinite re-election. In it he has posted information from EFE on which a spokesman of the U.S. State Department, consulted by the Spanish agency, defends that "the Legislative Assembly…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
