A prison for 40,000 inmates has opened in El Salvador in Central America – one of the largest prisons in the world. The mega prison is a project by President Nayib Bukele, who is dedicated to fighting gang crime. Although his approach is well received by the population, it also endangers democratic principles, says Latin America expert Christian Ambrosius.
SRF News: How did El Salvador build such a huge prison?
Christian Ambrosius: President Bukele wants to show that he is taking an ultra-strong hand against the violence and criminal gangs in the country. About a year ago, after a particularly violent weekend, he declared a state of emergency.
In doing so, Bukele also overrode the rule of law. The police were given the power to jail virtually anyone on mere suspicion. Almost 60,000 people are now in prison.
So is the prison needed primarily to house all those arrested during the state of emergency?
In El Salvador, two percent of the adult population is now in prison, and the prisons have been hopelessly overcrowded for years. In this respect, the construction of the mega prison was necessary. However: How Bukele wants to solve the problem of violence and the prisoner problem in the long term remains completely unclear, even with the mega prison.
It remains completely unclear how Bukele intends to solve the problem of violence and the problem of prisoners in the long term.
Nobody knows how many of the tens of thousands of people arrested last year are actually violent criminals and gang members – or whether they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are no investigations or court cases.
Bukele’s plan seems to be working. According to polls, he can count on up to 80 percent approval …
Bukele is actually very popular – which is also worrying. Because he is sending out the signal that, thanks to the abolition of the rule of law, he is creating something that his predecessors failed to achieve. It’s completely unclear where this is headed and what will happen to the generation of young men now in prison. Will they stay in prison forever? Or do they come out traumatized and the whole thing might blow up in Bukele’s ears?
Legend:
In the new prison in Tecoluca, around 75 kilometers southeast of the capital San Salvador, 40,000 prisoners are to be housed. The first 2,000 of them were brought there over the weekend, attracting media attention.
Reuters
Are there also critical voices in the country?
You are quiet. The political opposition is very weak and has little legitimacy. There are also some critical media. They state that although violence in the country has decreased, the price – democracy – is very high.
It is feared that critical voices could soon be put in prison.
Above all, they worry about what will happen when democratic principles are completely eroded and control mechanisms such as an independent judiciary are no longer there: it is feared that critical voices or political opponents could then also be put in prison.
The conversation was led by Dominik Brand.