In February 2021, the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador modified the Comprehensive Special Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women (Ley Especial Integral para una Vida Libre de Violencia para las Mujeres, LEIV) to codify violence against women in politics (VAW-P).

In a region challenged by weak rule of law and limited civic space, civil society leaders in the northern Central America countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras anticipated the possibility of government overreach and power grabs under the guise of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. With this foresight, these leaders sought to play active watchdog roles to promote transparency and public accountability.

On May 1, just a few hours after opening its first session, El Salvador’s newly elected legislature summarily dismissed and reappointed a new attorney general and all five judges in the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber.

In Latin America and around the world, citizens are increasingly wary of political parties. In Central America, this is particularly acute where recurring party scandals involving money in politics are compounded by growing insecurity, corruption and impunity, all of which have led to increased rates of migration. Of all the democratic institutions in Latin America, citizens have the least confidence in political parties and parliaments, with a mere 13 percent of citizens expressing any level of trust in political parties and 21 percent in parliaments.

NDI assisted Salvadoran citizen election observers to conduct a systematic observation of El Salvador’s February 3 presidential election to build public confidence in the electoral process. The election proved to be a significant moment for El Salvador’s democracy, as outsider Nayib Bukele decisively won El Salvador’s February 3 presidential election with 53 percent of the vote. Bukele’s first-round victory marked a historic shift from the majoritarian two-party system that has dominated Salvadoran politics since the end of the country's civil war in 1992.

More than 15 legislators from the Northern Triangle countries – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – met in San Salvador, El Salvador, for a two-day conference to advance a regional legislative agenda on security and human rights. The Northern Triangle region faces the highest homicide rate globally, and transnational criminal networks make collaboration between the three countries a critical element in efforts to improve security.