source: Christosal
Over the past few decades, Latin America has undergone transformations in its political systems. However, in the context of authoritarian or hybrid governments, state practices of persecution against those who question the exercise or distribution of public power persist and are even being reconfigured. These practices target human rights defenders, social watchdogs. critics of public policies, and members of the opposition organized in political parties. These repressive forms have adapted according to the tools available, but they tend to evolve into a model of indicialized persecution. where the judicial system, especially the criminal justice system, becomes the preferred weapon of contemporary authoritarian governments. The tactics are tailored to the profile of the victim and the degree of threat perceived by those in power. Thus, whether through 'political trials" or through judicial processes cloaked in legality but with the ulterior purpose of punishing dissent, the region's authoritarian regimes have perfected a repertoire of legal coercion that allows them to persecute under a veneer of institutional legitimacy. This phenomenon not only demonstrates the judicialization of politics, but also reveals a perverse paradox: institutions designed to protect rights are systematically emptied of their guarantee content and transformed into instruments of political exclusion.
El Salvador has been no exception. Since Nayib Bukele came to power in 2019. democratic erosion and the concentration of power have accelerated, reaching a critical turning point in 2021 after the political capture of key justice institutions. Since then, the judicial and prosecutorial systems have been subject to undue and systematic political influence, limiting their capacity to hold political power accountable and guarantee human rights.
In this context, a strategy of political persecution has been deployed, combining judicial. extrajudicial, and media actions against individuals identified as dissidents of the regime. These actions have had a silencing and chilling effect on the exercise of fundamental rights, especially regarding freedom of expression, political participation. and the protection of human rights
defenders.
In light of this scenario, this report seeks to analyze the factors that explain the resurgence of political persecution in El Salvador. based on the documentation of cases registered between lune 2010 and May 2025
