Abstract

OBANDO-SANCHEZ, María Fernanda. Violence and social insecurity in El Salvador and Costa Rica: A comparative analysis of the public policies of N. Bukele and R. Chaves. Comunicación [online]. 2024, vol.33, n.1, pp.134-139. ISSN 1659-3820.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18845/rc.v33i1.7191.

Public safety in Central America has become a pressing challenge, most evident in the strategies embraced by the leaders of countries such as El Salvador and Costa Rica. Two notoriously divergent approaches lie at the heart of this dichotomy, led by Nayib Bukele in El Salvador and Rodrigo Chaves in Costa Rica. While Bukele advocates for massive imprisonment and militarization as the main measures, Chaves has delegated responsibility to the Legislative and Judicial branches, thereby facing the most violent year in Costa Rican history. This paper aims to explore and analyze these contrasting strategies by examining the safety policies implemented by both leaders, their authoritarian discourses, and the impact of these decisions on public perception. Through this comparative analysis, the effectiveness and sustainability of such approaches to violence mitigation is discussed, providing a comprehensive perspective of how these leaders address the common challenge of protecting the safety of their citizens.

Keywords : safety; authoritarianism; criminality; terrorism; narco-state.

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