Nayib Bukele (born 1981) became El Salvador's 43rd president in 2019, rising from mayor of San Salvador to founding the Nuevas Ideas party and winning the election with 53% of the vote. His presidency is defined by a massive gang crackdown launched in 2022, which led to over 85,000 arrests and a dramatic, though contested, drop in the homicide rate to 1.9 per 100,000 by 2024. He also made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021, slashed the number of municipalities and legislative seats in 2023, and won re-election in 2024 with 85% of the vote after the Supreme Court reinterpreted the constitutional ban on consecutive terms. Despite an average approval rating of 88.6%, El Salvador has faced severe democratic backsliding under his rule, falling sharply in press freedom and democracy indices, and he sparked a political crisis in 2020 by sending soldiers to the legislature. In July 2025, a controversial constitutional amendment enabled indefinite reelection, extended presidential terms to six years, and eliminated the two-round system, further consolidating his grip on power.