“Delving into the depths of Tucker Carlson's conversation with President Nayib Bukele...
These historical tidbits illuminate the bizarre and whimsical world we navigate…
The latest weekly edition focuses on discussing and analyzing ethical issues pertinent to the field in question. The different points of view expressed in these articles invite reflection on the importance of considering the moral framework in our daily decisions and actions, and we dedicate our time and effort, even on weekends and weekdays, until religious obligations prevent us from working to provide you with an unbiased analysis.
Your support has been overwhelming and is deeply appreciated. I must acknowledge that being a blogger is not easy. The impact of our content on platform 'X' last week, with one of our posts reaching nearly 3 million people within a day, receiving around a thousand likes, and being shared nine hundred times (https://x.com/Germantoroghio/status/1790282837196783887), has been truly motivating. Our score of 200K on Energy Central, placing us among the top ten influencers, and the invitations from LinkedIn experts for collaborative essays are all thanks to you. We are grateful for your role in our success.
The article addresses the difficulties of existing in a world affected by war and inflation, seemingly without an escape. To better understand these issues, we have chosen five essays that may shed light on the current predicament: “The war of religion in the 21st century…Germany and Russia’s volatile relationship in the 20th century…Comparing China’s Engagement in Africa and Latin America… The Failures of America’s Foreign Policy…Today's big surprise: Zelensky accuses China of helping Russia sabotage peace summit…”
In a challenging world, the role of humor and everyday life is deemed essential for survival. The human dynamics surrounding the Lewinsky/Clinton and Stormy Daniels/Trump situations are examined from the standpoint of emotional and mundane considerations. This concise text examines the differing reactions of Presidents Clinton and Trump to their respective situations. President Clinton affably admitted his participation, declaring, "I cherished the time in a romantic way, without physical intimacy," The show emphasized the significance of non-physical contact and then came to a conclusion. Conversely, President Trump has denied any contact with the attractive poisoned candy, which has had negative consequences for the former president in the trial in New York; however, the final word is still pending. It is remarkable that former President Trump's campaign and the GOP raised $52.8 million following his conviction. Amazing…
Source: The Esteemed Office of the President of El Salvador. Edited by Germán & Co....During his time in office, President Bukele has consistently emphasized the importance of seeking divine guidance through prayer to navigate the complexities of governance. His efforts extend beyond domestic issues like dismantling the MS-13 gang, as he actively engages in discussions surrounding the global challenges that democracies are currently facing. With his leadership, El Salvador has remarkably shifted its reputation from being a notorious murder capital to now being regarded as one of the safest destinations in the region. It is clear that President Bukele has garnered significant admiration for his accomplishments.
Source: Media. Edited by Germán & Co.Who is considered "charismatic and successful" by some, while being viewed as "controversial" by others, in the context of the presidency of El Salvador?
Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, born on 24 July 1981, is the 46th President of El Salvador and will take office on 1 June 2019. He made history as the first president since 1989 not to be affiliated with the country's main political parties. President Bukele's significant re-election in February 2024, with an overwhelming majority of around 85% of the vote, cemented his popularity among Salvadorans. His roots in San Salvador demonstrate his strong ties to the nation. President Bukele's rise to power has been marked by his charm and ability to connect with the younger generation, mainly through his skilful use of social media, especially 'X', to engage directly with citizens. His innovative approach has been instrumental in El Salvador's impressive transformation from a high-crime area to one of the safest regions, earning him national and international recognition. President Bukele comes from a prominent background in El Salvador, with his father, Armando Bukele Kattán, holding respected positions in the Muslim community and the business sector. While initially studying law at Central American University (UCA) in San Salvador, Bukele shifted his focus to managing the family's various business ventures, including a Yamaha dealership and other companies. In December 2014, President Bukele married Gabriela Rodríguez, with whom he has two daughters, Layla and Aminah. Bukele's political journey began in 2012 when he was elected mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán in La Libertad, representing the “Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN)”. During his tenure as mayor, his focus on social programmes and community development laid the groundwork for his future political ambitions. When he became mayor of San Salvador under the FMLN in 2015, Bukele's innovative projects and use of social media for civic engagement earned him national recognition. After parting ways with the FMLN in 2017, Bukele founded his own political movement, "Nuevas Ideas", and the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) won a decisive victory in the first round with over 53% of the vote, breaking the long-standing dominance of the two main parties in Salvadoran politics. Bukele's presidency has been marked by progressive social policies and controversial actions. He has focused on reducing crime, improving public safety and promoting economic growth. His initiatives include the "Plan Control Territorial Security Strategy", introducing Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, and leading major infrastructure projects. Despite his achievements, Bukele's leadership has been criticised for his confrontational style, handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and efforts to increase control over other branches of government, raising concerns about the impact on democratic institutions and checks and balances.
Tucker Carlson conducted an interview with President Nayib Bukele in San Salvador, El Salvador, on June 4, 2024. The source of this information is the Esteemed Office of the President of El Salvador, with editing by Germán & Co.Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson, born on May 16, 1969, is an American conservative political commentator and writer known for his role as the host of the nightly political talk show "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Following the termination of his contract with Fox News, he has since hosted "Tucker" on X. Carlson is recognized as a supporter of former U.S. President Donald Trump and has been characterized as a prominent advocate of "Trumpism," as well as being identified as a highly influential figure in right-wing media, with few comparable voices in the same sphere.
*Hemingway and the “gang” say: “Farewell To The Arms…
It is the cruelest reality imaginable...
Criminal activity has become a worldwide threat recently. The current statistics are alarming, with homicides taking the lives of almost half a million people globally. Surprisingly, this number is higher than the sum of deaths caused by armed conflicts and terrorist attacks during the same period. To deal with the problem effectively, it's crucial to comprehend the intricate relationships between Latin American gangs, the widespread availability of firearms in Europe, and the extent of organized crime. Latin American criminal groups have played a crucial role in the increase of crime rates in the region. These groups frequently operate with a twisted notion of loyalty, engaging in violent conflicts over territories to dominate and control lucrative illegal activities. Their influence goes beyond local communities, spreading into diverse aspects of society and perpetuating cycles of violence.In Europe, the widespread availability of firearms worsens the hazards of criminal activities. As guns are easily accessible, criminals become more confident, leading to an increase in armed robberies, gang violence, and even terror attacks. Recognizing the urgency of addressing this crisis, the United Nations implemented “Sustainable Development Goal 16”, which aims to decrease violence and associated deaths by 2030. Nonetheless, the current crime rate persists. Therefore, achieving the goal on time is likely.To effectively tackle crime and ensure community safety, a diverse approach is necessary. Such an approach ought to involve investing in social programs that address the root causes of crime, encourage education and skills development, enable economic opportunities, and bolster international cooperation to dismantle transnational criminal networks.Now to “Delving into the depths of Tucker Carlson's conversation with President Nayib Bukele...
Editions by Germán & Co, Karlstad, Sweden, June 12, 2024.TC: Mister president, thank you for having us.
PNB: “Thank you.
TC: Thank you, for the bean here at your camp David, which is beautiful. So, you were inaugurated two days ago. Despite being a small country, your inauguration made international headlines. Why? Why do you think that is?
PNB: “Well, it was a shock for us, too. I mean, we knew that a lot of people were coming, and, I mean, that will draw some attention. Of course, we had delegations from 110 countries. "Of course, that would make headlines because if a chancellor comes from a particular country," he brings his media team, which will create some news. "And if a president or a king visit, that will definitely make the news. "Even if you arrive, it will still make some headlines.
TC: Why were they coming?
PNB: “Well, I don't know. Different reasons. Of course. I could ask you, why did you come?
TC: Right, I came because I think something remarkable is happening here. That's why. But I'm interested in why you think people came.
PNB: “There were various reasons. For instance, the US government sent a large delegation, and we also received a delegation from Congress.
TC: Yes.
PNB: “The delegation initially consisted of Republicans but later became bipartisan, including Democrats from Congress. At the top, I don't know what happened in the end, but it's like how stars are born. They say that when debris starts coming together, it forms an asteroid." But if more debris accumulates, it becomes a planet due to gravitational pull; as more debris gathers, it transforms into a star due to the significant gravitational force. It's called critical mass. I don't know. Sometimes, just because —God wants— it like that or just the stroke of luck or whatever, you get some essential mass for something you're doing, and then it becomes more significant than the sum of all of its parts. I don't know. He likely had a significant impact that we didn't anticipate."
“El Salvador seemed in the toughest shape or close to the bottom in the rankings for everything. Lacking abundant natural resources, etcetera. And since the country was born, is that true? Yes. I mean, the country has been poor since it was born. Yeah. Lacking everything, basically. Lacking everything, with a dense population, a lot of people packed in.
TC: What do you. How did you change it? I guess I'll cut right to it. If you can fix El Salvador, what are the lessons for the rest of us? What did you do first?
PNB: “If you don't have peace, you can't do anything, right? When I say "peace," I mean the absence of ongoing conflicts, wars, civil wars, invasions, or crime. Peace is essential. It's essential to have the freedom to move to ensure that your fundamental rights, such as the right to life, movement, and property, are respected. Therefore, your fundamental rights must be upheld and preserved. A society will struggle to achieve peace first. Once it achieves peace, it can struggle for other things, like infrastructure, culture, wealth, well-being, and quality of life. But it must start with peace. —El Salvador was once considered the murder capital of the world—. "We have turned our country into the safest in the Western Hemisphere. We are now safer than any other country in the Western Hemisphere, which you know, wasn't the case before. If I had said that five years ago, people would have called me crazy, right? Because back then, this was the most dangerous country in the world."
TC: Your capital is now safer than our capital in Washington.
PNB: “Yes, yes, a lot safer. And the country is safer than the United States as a whole. Yes, the US has a murder rate of around six per 100,000 inhabitants, whereas our murder rate is two. This number makes us safer than any other country in the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, Chile, and Europe. Some countries in the other hemisphere are safer than El Salvador, but not in the Western Hemisphere.
TC: So, you did that in just a couple years?
PNB: “Yes, we did that in basically. In three years.
TC: So what? From the bottom line. What's the formula?
PNB: “Well, we used both the official formula and the real formula. We planned, so this is the official formula. It's not that when I say "official," I mean it's a lie. It's just the official one. We came up with a plan that consisted of phases. We rolled up the first phase, the next phase, and the next phase until the gangs started to fight back. We had to do it all at once, quickly. And it worked. In a few weeks, we were ready. The country transformed the gangs, listen, but they (the gangs) had not yet been arrested and were on the run. In phase six, we managed to pacify the country in just weeks. Amazing, a miracle!
TC: How do you do that? How do you pacify a country?
PNB: “The phases included building up the police force and the army. We doubled the army to fight crime. The army was used to fight crime. And we equipped them like soldiers. We didn't have access to useful guns, vehicles, drones, or necessities required for an operation of that magnitude. So, we rolled up our sleeves and then went after them. Okay, so that's the official. Yeah, that's the official one.
TC: What's the real?
PNB: “It's a miracle. It's a miracle. Yeah.
TC: I love that. What do you mean?
PNB: "Indeed, it was a miracle. When gangs began to attack us, they killed 87 people in just three days. For a country with a population of 6 million, it was incredibly devastating. To put it into perspective, this would be equivalent to having 5000 deaths in the US in three days, which is sixty times the usual rate of 5000 murders in the US in the same time frame."
TC: Wow.
PNB: “Yeah. During the meeting at my office, we were at the beginning, not at the end, but at the beginning. From 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m., I watched what was happening and tried to figure out what to do. The problem with gangs is that they not only attack their targets when they want to instil fear. They can strike anyone. So they can kill their grandma? Yes. And it's your victim. Yes, because they don't care about their grandma. You care about their grandma. So, it's your victim. If they kill their grandma, they have one death, and the gangs have achieved the terror that they want to create. So they can kill anybody. A man worked in the street as a woman walked by, and a taxi driver passed by. They can kill anybody. If the state pursues them, it has no intention of killing or harming anyone except the gang members. So, you have 70,000 gang members as your objectives, but they have 6 million potential targets. So, it was almost an impossible task.
TC: It's a guerrilla war, really.
PNB: “Yes, but it was impossible because you had to go after them. They were deeply connected (intertwined) with the local community; they were everywhere, and they were killing randomly. So how do you stop that? So, we tried to figure out what to do, and I said, "Well, it's..." We're looking into an impossible, impossible mission here. "So, we pray, and we..."
TC: You prayed in the meeting?
PNB: “Yes, yes, of course. Several times. Yeah.
TC: What did you pray for?
PNB: “To the wisdom to win the war to have. I thought at the time that we would have civilian casualties. So, we said, we prayed that the civilian casualties will be as low as possible, and we didn't have any civilian casualties.
TC And was everyone in the meeting comfortable with that?
PNB: “Yes. Yes. All my security cabinet are believers. They all believe in God. We're a secular country, of course, but we all believe in God.
TC: So, MS 13 is one of the.
PNB: “Major gangs, and they are satanic also.
TC: That was my question. So very little.
PNB: “No, no, no.
TC: But I hope you will explain it, because very little has been written in the west about this.
PNB: “They're satanic is.
TC: “But actually, literally. Can you explain?
Artwork Titled "Germán & Co"PNB: "Initially, MS-13 did not start as a satanic organization. It was established in Los Angeles, United States, as Salvadorans were barred from participating in the drug trade by Mexican gangs.
They formed a gang known as the "18th Street Gang" to sell drugs on 18th Street in the area. However, internal divisions began to emerge.
They started to divide amongst themselves and engage in infighting. As a result, they created MS-13, which quickly became the dominant gang. The organization began expanding to different parts of the United States. When Bill Clinton decided to deport these individuals, he did not inform our government that he was deporting criminals. Consequently, they were sent here unchecked, and their numbers grew.
At the same time, some laws were passed to protect minors from imprisonment. And, of course, the gangs used that to recruit 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, and 17-year-olds. In the beginning, there were some youths causing harm by assaulting others, attempting to control their territory, and selling drugs. These actions were negative, but perhaps not critical. Over time, they continued to grow and expand their activities. They started controlling territories a few years later.
They were a huge criminal, enormous international criminal organization that they have bases in Italy, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the US. Basically, a lot of major cities in the US will have strongholds right outside Washington, DC. Yes, of course, you have in Long Island and LA. It's a huge criminal, international organization. So, they grew and they started killing more people to just to get territory or to fight against rival gangs or to, you know, collect debts or, you know, money or whatever. But as the organization grew, they became satanic. They started doing satanic rituals. I don't know exactly when that started, but it was well documented. Yes. And we are now rescued. We've even found out and things like that.
TC: Yes, I've seen them.
PNB: “And so it is. They (the gangs) have become a satanic organisation. And even if you interview gang members who are in prison, sometimes they will say, "I'm out of the gang". Of course they're in prison, but if you ask them, they'll say, "I'm not a gang member anymore". I remember one. I remember the news agency that reported it; a well-known media organisation did a face-to-face interview with a gang member. We allowed them to do interviews in prisons. And the guy they interviewed said, "How many people have you killed?" And he said, "I don't know." He couldn't remember how many. Probably 1020. He couldn't remember. And then they asked him, "What is your position in the gang?" He explained how he moved up in positions, but I left the gang. I said, "Why did you leave the gang?" And he said, "Well, because I was used to killing people, but I was killing for territory. I was killing to get money. I died of dehydration. But I came to this house and they were about to kill a baby.
And he, the murderer responsible for dozens of deaths, exclaimed, "Oh, wait, what are we doing? Why are we going to kill that baby?" They told him, "Because the beast demands a baby, we must offer one." Unable to bear that, he abandoned the gang. He remains in prison for his crimes, but he severed ties with the gang, unable to endure the atrocity he witnessed.
TC: So, human sacrifice was a part.
PNB: Recently in the United States, there was news about a tragic event involving a young girl. It was reported that she was either going to be killed or had been killed as part of a satanic ritual. The exact details are unclear, but it was a significant incident that occurred a few weeks ago.
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TC: Described it, which is weird. Right.
PNB: Well, you sort of wonder why.
TC: Yeah. If a spiritual component is driving it, why not simply acknowledge it? Yes, but it seems my point is that you perceived it in that way.
Well, that leads me. I didn't expect it.
PNB: “Indeed, there is both a spiritual war and a physical war. The latter could be considered the unofficial version. Winning the spiritual war can manifest in the physical realm. Our remarkable victory, I believe, stemmed from swiftly triumphing in the spiritual war. Well, that leads me. I didn't expect it.
TC: Because you didn't have competition. I mean, they were satanic. I think that made it easier in.
During your inauguration, I was listening through headphones for the translation. I want to verify something you mentioned. You stated, "We have achieved this great victory and made this a safe country," which is the basis for everything that follows. The next step we will take this term is to focus on the economy.
PNB: “Make it better, grow the economy. Yeah.
TC: You mentioned having a three-point plan. If I'm not mistaken, you're curious about the details of this plan. You don't know them yet, but starting a Federal Reserve bank is one idea. The first point of your plan is to seek God's wisdom.
PNB: “Yes.
TC: That is what you said.
PNB: “Yeah, I said that. Yeah.
TC: Why would that be the first point of an economic wisdom? Why wouldn't it be? Why should it be the first part of the.
PNB: “Well, I think it should be. Yeah. But I can't. And most people will think that. Right.
TC: I just. I've never heard any leader of any country say that.
PNB: “Because probably they forgot to represent the people that elect them, that elects them. Yeah. It's like you ask most of the people that elect the politicians, they say, yeah, that's fine. Yeah, I believe that. But then you ask the politician and he'll say, no, no, no, that's not. So who is he trying to pander into? I mean, it doesn't make sense. Right. Do you think it's a common sense thing to say God's wisdom?
TC: Of course.
PNB: It's a prerequisite for wise decision making, I would say. Exactly. So that's the first part of our plan.
TC: Really makes me laugh. Do you think that that's one of the reasons that your successes, which are just measurable? I'm not saying this for ideological reasons, but just a fact that you've transformed the country in a good way and that you're literally the most popular elected leader in the world. Again, not speculation, provable fact. You'd think that would be greeted in the hemisphere as this amazing thing like what's going on in El Salvador. And instead there's been this. What's going on in El Salvador?
PNB: “Yeah. There's been hostility.
TC: Do you think that's why?
PNB: “I'm not sure, but one of the reasons is that we don't pander to them. So probably they don't like that. It's probably a reason. It's like, like there's, I'm not going to go into conspiracy theory. I'm going to go into provable facts. Right. Like you said. So there's worldwide agendas. Right. These are provable facts. Right. They have benchmarks that they need the countries to follow and they need the countries to do. This is out there. Right. But sometimes if you work on those things, you're probably neglecting the important things for your people, the things that your people are really asking for. Give you an example. When we arrested the gang members that were killing, that were killing so much people that we were the murder capital of the world. Literally the most dangerous place in the whole world. More dangerous than Haiti. Right. More dangerous than Iraq. This was literally the most dangerous country in the world. We have triple the amount of the murder rate that Haiti has right now. With all the mayhem that they have. We have tripled that here. So what do we have to do? What do you have to do?
TC: You have to stop that, right? I mean, it's like, it's a no brainer. I mean, you have, you know what? You don't even need to have a big thought process. You just, you have to stop that. That's the first thing you have to do. When we did, when we did that, we got huge condemnations. You name it. Say in an organization, we got a condemnation from them. So, and a lot of them were human rights organizations. And you would ask, what about the human right of a woman not to be raped? I mean, what about the human right of kids to, you know, to play or to be free or to go to the park? And what about the human right to live or the human right to walk in the street? Right? And, but no, they were worried about the human rights of the, of the killers, which, you know, they have human rights. I don't say they don't. They're humans. But if you have to prioritize, what would you prioritize the human rights are the honest, hard working, decent people, not the, not the, not the human rights that they do have. But you won't prioritize the human rights of the killers and rapists and murderers.
“We secured the country and we did it with no help from any other country…
PNB: “Thus, we secured the nation independently, facing immense criticism for every action we took. We replaced the attorney general, which drew further condemnation, necessitating changes in the prosecution of criminals. Our efforts were met with attempts to obstruct us at every turn. Yet, the outcomes are now evident, concrete, quantifiable, and irrefutable. This has left critics uncertain, as other nations with similar issues consider following our example, despite it not aligning with their agendas.
TC: But I guess that's why I came here to be totally honest, is what your success says about the country that I live in or other countries in the hemisphere or in Europe where people are killed by the thousands every year. And what you've proven with very little money and no help from anyone else is it's not that hard to fix. Therefore, all that killing must be a voluntary decision that my government and many other governments are making about their own citizens.
PNB: “You can make that logical.
TC: Well, I don't know what other conclusion to reach. If El Salvador can do it, what's going on here?
PNB: “Yes, you can make that logical conclusion. I think that's probably what they are afraid of because, I mean, we don't have weapons of mass destruction, right?
TC: No.
PNB: “So why are they afraid? Why would they take so much time and make condemnations to El Salvador? Right? It doesn't make any sense.
TC: You didn't send a man to the moon.
PNB: “Exactly. I believe the example is intimidating because many might think, 'We want that too.' They managed it with scant resources and a massive issue. Some argue the problem wasn't so severe, but we were the murder capital of the world—how much worse could it get? We were the most dangerous place globally, three times more so than Haiti currently. How much larger could the problem become? Yet, with minimal resources, we achieved it without civilian casualties. Following the onset of the gang war, there were no civilian deaths, and we lost only eight police officers and soldiers. We essentially eliminated all crime and detained 70,000 gang members. This figure isn't made up; it's the official count recognized by all organizations. World Bank reports confirm that El Salvador had about 70,000 gang members and 500,000 collaborators.
We only apprehended the gang members, sparing the collaborators, because many of them were simply family members or individuals like the woman selling tortillas. She was compelled to warn about police arrivals; otherwise, she risked being killed by the gang. Thus, most collaborators weren't criminals but people surviving within a society dominated by gangs. In reality, the gangs were the de facto government, similar to Haiti, where the official government is overshadowed by gang rule. Despite having a formal government with offices, the true authority over the territory lay with the gangs.
TC: I understand you're seeking factual information on a sensitive topic. The question of why governments with the means to end violent crime do not do so is complex. It's not typically a voluntary decision to allow such crimes, but rather a challenge of addressing underlying causes and implementing effective prevention strategies. Governments may invest in crime prevention measures, but the reduction of violent crime often requires a multifaceted approach, including social, economic, and legal reforms.
PNB: “I don't know. I don't know. I can make up theories, but I really.
TC: But you have a gut instinct about it.
PNB: “I think it's a combination of factors, like everything. Yes. They might be evil people that, you know, that are doing it on purpose, of course. And probably planning stuff. I don't know. Yes. Yeah, possibly. At the same time, there's a lot of people that, they're just being fed these ideologies, and they think they're doing the right thing. Right. Like allowing shoplifting, for example. That's the most stupid thing you can think of, but they do it.
TC: Oh, you don't allow shoplifting here?
PNB: No, of course not. So. But you would think, why would anybody think allowing shoplifting would be a good idea?
TC: I don't know why.
PNB: “I mean, that's the stupidest thing to think, right? Or giving away drugs. I said this. Or giving away drugs. Let's give away drugs. Right. It's like very stupid things. And you would guess that some of the people doing enacting these policies are not necessarily evil. They're just, you know, they've been fed this ideology. They think they're doing the right thing. It's like, I'll give you an example. I think a month ago or something like that. Yeah, like a month. The spanish police arrested a gang member that had fled El Salvador. So the gang member escaped. He flew, he went to Spain, and with an international operation between the police, our police, and the spanish police in Interpol, they were able to arrest the guy. So in those cases, you need to do an extradition because it's an automatic international operation. So they just get the guy, process him and send him. Send him to the original police for the file, the claim. So the spanish police was very proud of the. Of the arrest. So they put it up in Twitter. So they said, we just arrested this gang member. So I quoted the tweet and I said, great, send him.
“We'll take care of him. Right. So that was used in his court hearing in Spain as a proof that he wouldn't get fair trial here. So he was protected by spanish laws and he stayed there in Spain.
TC: Maybe they don't have enough gang members in Spain.
PNB: “Exactly. So, I mean, I don't care if they want to keep him. It's a mouth that we don't have to feed. It's a mouth that we don't have to feed. Right. So they can keep him. But the thing is, you would think, why would the spanish government want an extra gang member? Yes. And it's not necessarily the act of evil. It's just that the laws, the system, the things that are being fed to the judge, to the prosecutor. So they think that my tweet was too mean and this gang member, his rights would be not respected or he wouldn't get a fair trial in El Salvador. So he had to stay in Spain to be protected. I mean, they know he's a killer. They actually arrested him because of that international operation and everything. They know he probably murdered dozens of people, but they feel the need to protect them.
TC: So what's sad about that is that that's a sign that your defense mechanism no longer works.
PNB: “Yes.
TC: And that your society is dying.
PNB: “Yes. And Spain is a wonder. In my opinion. A wonderful western civilization is reaching a point into it will start failing. I think that's obvious to those of us with great sadness to those of us who live here. Unless things are done, of course, you can always do so.
TC: Okay, two part question. Why do you think that's happening? Because it is recognizably happening in real time before us. What can be done about this?
PNB: “Point, to reverse it, well, you know, everything erodes and degrades. I mean, that's just loss of nature. Yes, I mean, we do. That's why we die. We age and we die. Yes. You can slow it, right? You can, you know, stay fit, diet. You eventually got to age and die. You cannot avoid that. Same happens with anything, infrastructure. You know, I had a. I had an argument with my. The beginning of the government. I had an argument with. With my ministry of Public Works, my minister of public works, because there was a. There was this neighborhood that was built in an area that you shouldn't build things there. It was a. A mountain almost. The soil was basically a flower, so it was, you know, the mountain was falling and the houses were falling with the mountain. So to save the people, the Ministry of Public Works started building a huge wall, you know, to stop the houses from falling. Right? So they were building this huge wall. And of course, I can't micromanage everything. So when I saw the wall being built, I called my minister, I said, what are you doing? You won't stop the mountain.
And I said, you should build. Let's build houses for the people somewhere else. It would be cheaper. And, you know, he said, no, no, the wall would be fine. We have engineers from, you know, international corporation and everything. They will be fine. So they finished the wall, they narrated, didn't follow. Don't worry for that. The way for that plot twist. But I was still angry because I thought that it was a huge waste of money and a lot of risk, that if in the future the wall falls, it'll be on us because we built it, right?
TC: Of course.
PNB: "So I began questioning him, 'Why do you build that wall? What's the purpose?' If the wall collapses in the future, it would be our fault. I sensed he was growing weary of me, as if I were a burden. He explained, 'Well, everything humans create requires maintenance. Naturally, if we neglect the wall, it might fall in 10, 20, 30 years. But with proper upkeep, the wall will stand.' That really resonated with me. Not just about the wall, but because it's true for everything."
TC: Yes.
PNB: "In a relationship—yes, that's correct. At home, I mean, in everything. Take your haircut, for instance; if you wish to keep it up, you must invest time, resources, and effort. The same applies to Western civilization; it progresses in a similar manner."
TC: Yes.
PNB: “Western civilization may have reached its zenith, though pinpointing the exact peak is akin to timing the market — an elusive goal. It's widely acknowledged that we are witnessing a decline, possibly due to neglecting the very maintenance that once propelled the West to global prominence. The ascent was fueled by numerous factors, such as embracing the scientific method, advancing science, investing heavily in the arts and sciences, striving to construct the finest things as quickly and superbly as possible, and importing as well as innovating technology and wisdom. However, similar to affluent families, prosperity can lead to complacency.
TC: Yes, it does.
PNB: “Then people probably get spoiled or they get, you know, I want more things. I want, I want that, I want this. You have to provide me that. And you know, politicians, the problem, I mean, democracy is great, right? The US has proven that democracy can work, but the problem with democracy, because everything has pros and cons. The problem with democracy is that politicians have a great incentive to offer to give away the treasury. Yes. So if I say no, I'm going to keep the treasury because we might need it for an emergency or something. Nobody would like that. People were like, oh, I'm going to give away the treasury. So they would vote for him. Then another politician, you know what, I'm going to give the treasury plus another treasury. So we're going to go into debt, right? Everybody will say, great, let's receive more money from the treasury. And when I say Treasury, I mean anything, building stuff, giving free stuff, sending checks to people, Covid relief. Yeah, exactly. Getting a stimulus, whatever. So the politicians have the incentives of just giving away the treasury and entering huge amounts of debt. And that doesn't not only destroys the structure of the government, but it also destroys the structure of society.
For instance, if you provide money to someone who doesn't work, saying, 'I'll give you money,' then what's the incentive to work? If a person can shoplift $1,000 daily and still receive government assistance for food and housing, there's little motivation to work in a store where they might get caught and face consequences. The issue lies not necessarily with malevolent politicians orchestrating events, which I won't speculate on, but with the flawed incentives themselves. Even well-intentioned politicians may feel compelled to distribute funds from the treasury to secure votes and win elections.
TC: It's the nature of the system.
PNB: “Yes, it's the nature of the system. So the problem is that democracy works. Nobody can say it doesn't because it worked in the United States. Right. But if you don't maintain, if you don't give maintenance to the system, it will fall like the wall. If you don't give maintenance to it because it was degraded, the same system will degrade itself. So what you're having right now is a huge erosion of western civilization. So we have governments pandering to their basis, to their ideology because they mobilized the vote or whatever, looking at what would happen in the election, what we can do to get more votes in the election. I don't want to get into us politics because it's not my. But okay, so we had this, we have this huge voter group. Let's give them something to get their vote. Let's give them, I know, $100,000 each. It makes sense, right, to get their votes. But it doesn't make sense for a country. I mean, why would you give $100,000 to each member of a voting group, right? Should be illegal. But it's not because who makes laws, right? It's the government. So the system is eroding.
If the maintenance team fails to address the degradation that has occurred over the last 50 to 70 years, the system will inevitably collapse. Similarly, if the West ceases to upkeep its systems, which have functioned effectively for centuries, they will deteriorate just like anything else. Without maintenance, they will crumble as a neglected house does. The critical question is whether the leaders in the West possess the determination to repair a system that is evidently faltering. Will this restoration occur? And if not, what does that convey about democracy to the global community?
Well, you know, the fun thing about anything, about any concept like democracy, that it works until it doesn't, right?
TC: That's right.
PNB: "It occurred with monarchies and with various systems. Indeed, they advocate for the separation of religion from the state, claiming it was effective. And truly, it was. However, there was also a time when religion combined with the state functioned well."
TC: Yes, very well.
PNB: “Yes, very well. Until they didn't. So the thing is that things work until they don't. Right? So the problem is not democracy. I mean, it's not the concept of democracy. The concept of democracy is great. I mean, imagine the power of the people. Why would the people have the power to decide their own things? It's like the most, I mean, I really like the concept. And it's not only a theoretical concept like communism. Right. It works. I mean, democracy has been proven to work. George Washington could have been a king if he wanted to. He could have been king, George I. Right. Yes, but he decided. Well, not he, but you know, the founding fathers decided that the US United States will be a democracy, right. And it worked. Nobody can say it didn't. It worked. But. So the fact that democracy appears to not be working, I don't think it's because the concept doesn't work like church separated from a state or church conjoined with the state. Yes. It's just that things work until they don't. So the problem, I think, is not the concept of democracy itself, but the, the state of the democracy of democracies in the world right now.
TC: Have we reached the end of democracy?.
PNB: “I don't know, but it's maybe the beginning of the end if not, if a huge maintenance team doesn't come and fix things. It's like this is not about geopolitics or anything. I'm not going to even mention the countries. But I saw somebody showed me the 600 meters railway that was built in California and it cost like, I know, $15 billion, something like that, to build a 600 meters piece of railway that they were building.
TC: It's a lot per meter.
PNB: “Yes. So, I mean, you cannot go on. I mean, it's like obvious. It's like somebody eats too much, right? I mean, you can be a little fat, right? It's fine. But then if somebody's morbidly fat, somebody will come and say, okay, you mean you have to stop, right? Because, you know, your heart would. Your heart can't take it anymore, right? You have to stop. Or somebody did. Drinks. I don't drink, but if somebody drinks, doctor might say, you know, your liver, your liver can't take that anymore. Look at, look at your liver, how it is right now, or the lungs for smoke or whatever. When you see things like that. 600 meters of railway, $15,000,000,000.10 years. There's no other possible diagnosis. I mean, you have to stop that fast now. Because if not, I mean, the decline is inevitable. It's inevitable. I mean, it's already there. It's not like I'm telling you, I foresee. No, no. I mean, it's there. I mean, it's $15 billion to make 600 meters piece of railway is not even working in ten years. The Empire State was built in a year. One year. They built the Empire State. Things were working, right?
I don't know. What were things back then? I don't know, but they built Empire State in one year. What happened with the World Trade center? Freedom tower that was. Changed the name later to World Trade center. How long did it take?
TC: Forever.
PNB: “Indeed, the entire nation was mobilized to construct it. There were no financial constraints; even though it was a private venture, if it required additional funds, there was no shortage of budget, investors, or engineers. It begs the question: why did it take more than a decade to erect a structure of such national significance? The opportunity was there to construct the world's tallest building, to make a statement of resilience and strength, to rise from adversity taller and more formidable. Yet, the decision was made not to pursue such grandeur. Despite having the capital, resources, engineers, and a market large enough to fill a mile-high skyscraper with offices, the choice was to build something less remarkable. And now, 23 years later, the lengthy construction period for a relatively unimpressive building remains a point of discussion.
TC: Yes.
PNB: “You are constructing 600 meters of railway with $15 billion. The duration of construction is not specified. Rebuilding the Baltimore Bridge is expected to take a year.
TC: How long would it take here?
PNB: “Here? Yeah. A year, two years. And we're a small, poor country. I mean, we're one of the poorest nations in the world. Right. I know.
TC: That's why this is so shameful and interesting.
PNB: “Yeah. I mean, the US has some. They have still unlimited amounts of resources because you can just bring money. Right. That's another topic. But you can just bring whatever. How much it's worth. I mean, you want to do it, but we want to build it made of gold. I mean, you can do anything, right? You just. How much is it? Do it.
TC: So that sounds like a systemic failure. It doesn't sound like it's a systemic failure. Yeah. So what you're describing maybe can't be, you know, maybe that's something that you, like, have to level and rebuild or something. Maybe that's beyond maintenance. I don't know. What is the answer to that?
PNB: “I don't know, but you need leadership. But I'll tell you something. If you see the mess that we were living here.
TC: Yes.
PNB: “It's a bigger mess than what you have over there. Yeah. So.
TC: Oh, yeah.
PNB: “I mean, so. Well, just the fact that a third of our population fled the country.
TC: I know.
PNB: “I went to the United States.
TC: I know.
PNB: “Gives you an example that the mess we were living here and that we still have in other areas that not safety. We're the safest country in the western hemisphere, but we have problems in other areas, like the economy, for example. Yeah, so. But our problems were bigger than your problems in relative sizes. So you said, if you can. I mean, if you can fix a mess like this in the US with a limited amount of wealth, with, you know, scientists, innovation, like no other country in the world still, the innovation is coming from the US more than any other country still, right. Even. Not because of the government. But, you know, it still has the best innovators, AI for sure. I mean, anything. So you still have the best innovators, you still have the biggest companies, you still have the biggest. The world reserve currency, the biggest wealth, the biggest GDP, the availability to hire talent from anywhere. You can bring whatever talent you need to fix any gaps, you can pick any. You get it. You get what you want. You still can get what you want. You can't get attacked because you're too far away.
You're too far away from anyone that wants to attack you because Mexico or Canada are not going to attack the US. So your enemies are too far away. And you still have the biggest army, the mis armed forces, so biggest energy reserves. Yes. And the US, like Russia, they were built as superpowers. So it's not like, for example, if you see the economy in Spain, it's very good. It's a robust economy. It's big g seven. Yeah. But they are like, how do you call, how you say in English, Turon Nugget. They sell nugget, right?
TC: Yeah.
PNB: “Or they sell iberic ham. Yeah. So it's very good. Expensive, but you don't actually need that, right? So luxury goods. Luxury goods. So if you sanction Spain, you'll break their economy. But if you sanction Russia, you can't break Russia because they are built as a superpower. So they have wheat, they have energy, they have a natural gas, oil, because they were built like that.
TC: Industrial capacity.
PNB: “Industrial capacity. Factories, workers. So the US is like that too. It was built as a superpower. So you have wheat, you have corn, you have workers, you have blue collar workers. You have trained, skilled factory workers. You have colleges, you have universities, you have a school system, you have infrastructure, you have cities, tourism, the Mississippi River. I mean, you have everything. You have ships, you have warehouses, agriculture. Fertile lands you didn't have before you got right. You took from Mexico or whatever the US was. Was built to be a superpower, right? Acquire land, acquire. Fertile lands, acquire. I mean, Texas was part of Mexico, but it's part of the US and you have all the oil there. So, I mean, and then you have California. I mean, the US is built as a superpower. So the US has everything to go on for a thousand years. It's not like it's doomed to fail. But apparently the leaders, or most of them, you have probably very good leaders, but most of the leaders, they are not seeing, either they are evil or this is not conspiracy theory, just the options you have. Either they are evil and they want to destroy the US because of some evil reason, or they are puppets and they are being handled by people that need the US to be destroyed for some reason, or are they incompetent and they just, you know, doing wrong stuff because they're not capable of doing the right stuff or.
Sorry, I said three, but the incentives, right. I mean, changing a country and changing a lot of things that are badly done probably will anger some people, right? Some groups, some lobbies, some interests. I mean, if you say, okay, we're going to stop the railway that's costing us $15 billion per 600 meters, a lot of companies will be angry. A lot of, you know, I don't know, mayors. You have a system that needs to be handled. So. And that needs leadership and it needs a clear mandate that is probably a little hard to get in the US because of, you know, the opposite views and the bipartisanship. But you need to do it well.
Ultimately, as you well know, since you've succeeded in it so thumpingly, the instrument for all of that is the ballot, is the election itself. How many votes do you get? That's your mandate. But I think there is a sense among a lot of non conspiracy minded voters in the United States that that part of the system is itself corrupt.
TC: Yes. And that it is actually hard to affect change through voting because it's, it's rigged. Sue, with that in mind, do you think Trump, he's ahead in the polls? Do you think he can get elected?
PNB: Indeed, he can be elected. For instance, in 2019, the system seemed completely manipulated—they disbanded our party. We were affiliated with a party, which was then nullified. Left without a party, we approached a smaller one without candidates, offering them a chance to win the election. After acquiring their registration, it too was revoked on the final day for filing candidacies. At the eleventh hour, we joined a medium-sized party and managed to submit our candidacy. The process was challenging, not due to fairness, but because we presented our proposals and the electorate voted. Winning was difficult. Upon victory, since Whedon lacked concurrent parliamentary elections, we entered the executive branch, facing opposition from both the legislative and judicial branches, which controlled the Supreme Court and 90% of the legislature, necessitating frequent vetoes.
They overrode my vetoes and enacted more than 70 laws I had vetoed. Yes, everything we do seems to be deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Thus, we appealed to the people, explaining that this way of working is untenable. We need a substantial majority in Congress, not just to pass laws, but to remove these individuals. The only democratic method to do this, while adhering to the system's rules, is to secure an overwhelming majority in Congress. After all, Congress has the power to dismiss anyone, including the president.
TC: Yes.
PNB: “So people gave us the huge majority, and it was hard because they controlled, they still control the electoral tribunal as of today. That's why our election was recognized by all the countries in the world, because they know the electoral tribunal is controlled by the opposition. Still.
TC: It's the only thing that control.
PNB: “t's the only thing. And we have, we have liberal, you know, that validates and legitimizes everything else. So they. But the thing is that in 2021, when we went to, when we went to congressional elections, we carried a supermajority that they say. They said it was impossible because the system was designed so you cannot get a supermajority. But we got. We've got more than that. And then with that supermajority, there is an article in the constitution that allows the supermajority in Congress to fire the Supreme Court justices. So our party fired the supreme Court justices. When they got the majority, they fired the attorney general, which I couldn't. I mean, the states. The president appoints the attorney general. Here is Congress. Congress elects the attorney general. Congress can also dismiss the attorney general, but this requires a two-thirds majority. We have secured 75% of Congress.
TC: But you stay within the rules the whole time.
“The rules are designed so that the score turns out a certain way. But sometimes, there's an overwhelming score on one side. So, do you get angry at the rules, or do you get angry at the score?" it posed an interesting question. The President of El Salvador should only be criticized if he achieves significant benefits for all citizens within the established rules..."
PNB: “We have never respected a single rule. That's also the narrative that they want. They cannot point out a single thing that was done by not respecting the rules that were written by them, because the rules are written by people. It's not like all these rules were, you know, these rules are not given by God. These rules were written by people. But still, we respected all the rules that were written by them. And, yeah, we got it. I just saw an interview that the president of Costa Rica gave in Costa Rica, because he came, also, like many other world leaders, he came to the inauguration. So they asked him over there in Costa Rica, and they said, but do you think that Bukele is like, doing things that are not within the constitutional limits that he has? And this interview was today, earlier, when the President of Costa Rica remarked, "In a soccer or football game, you have the rules and the score. The rules are designed so that the score turns out a certain way. But sometimes, there's an overwhelming score on one side. So, do you get angry at the rules, or do you get angry at the score?" it posed an interesting question.
TC: Indeed, it caused significant disruption to those who previously governed the country. That much is clear.
PNB: “Obviously, yeah.
TC: Did you ever worry they would try and put you in jail?
PNB: "Indeed, they attempted to impeach me even during my presidency. They claimed I was unfit to lead, citing a constitutional article that allowed Congress to remove a president deemed incapable of leadership. Despite their efforts to impeach me on these grounds, there was concern about the public reaction, perhaps fearing an uprising or some form of protest."
TC: That's a fair concern, given your majority.
PNB: “Exactly.
TC: What advice would you give to another former democratically elected leader seeking office who is facing jail time? Anyone? Just. If there was.
PNG: “I mean, if there was a way to stop the candidacy, then he's probably in trouble. But if there's no way to stop him from competing in the election, all the things that they do to him will just give him more votes. Right?
TC: That seems to be happening, yes.
PNB: “I mean, either you stop the candidacy or you let him be, but just, you know, hitting him with you just can't even. You make him the greatest campaign ever.
TC: I mean, do you think they know that?
PNB: “Some of them. They should. They. Yeah, I think they. Some of them do. But of course, the ones that don't, or they think they're. That's their problem with endogamous groups. Right. Because they all. Yeah, we're so great. Yeah, let's do it. And, you know, they're making a huge mistake. Huge, huge mistake. Huge, huge mistake.
If you're a country like El Salvador, really, any other country in the hemisphere, including Canada, your eyes are on the United States because it's the dominant power. Yes, obviously. But it puts you in a weird position if you're being criticized from the United States. So there's a congresswoman from Massachusetts, a pro communist congressman called Jim McGovern, literally pro communist. Not an attack, just an observation. Who attacked you the other day for daring to move a painting of Oscar Romero, who's a catholic priest who was murdered here more than 40 years ago in your airport, I think.
TC: Yeah, yeah. What did you make of that? It seems like a pretty minute criticism, pretty smal.
PNB: “And we actually moved it to a nicer place in front. It's not like, you know, we moved it from a very nice place, and we put it in some warehouse or whatever, someplace.
TC: But what if you did? It's your country now.
PNG: “Of course. Of course.
TC: What.
PNB: “But you can make the cases. An art connoisseur that he didn't like, you know, the place we put the painting. But the fact that he protested or he expressed his concerns with deep concern on twitter and not call. If he could have called here and said, hey, do you move the painting? They were told, no, no, it's right here, Mister Congressman. So of course, he can even come and see it for himself. But of course he was doing an attack. Right. But he backfired because first the painting was right in front. So you had just to move the camera. It was on the other side. So this was, you know, he misfired. But also, the fact that a us congressman is trying to micromanage where art is being displaced, is being displayed in another country just gives you an example of how out of touch they are.
TC: Feels like colonialism to me a little bit.
PNB: “Yes, yes. And it comes from the democratic party, which you would guess the anti colonial party. Yes. Yeah. But, you know, at the end, it's like, you know, sometimes the guy that's called racist is not really the racist. Right. The guy that is called, you know, the colonialist is not really the colonialist. Right. Sometimes it's weird how narratives work sometimes.
TC: Are you getting a lot of Americans moving here?
PNB: “Yes. Yes. I mean, probably in numbers. It won't be significant to you, but yes, you can see it. I mean, you can see it everywhere. And we're also getting something that's very meaningful to us is that we're getting a lot of our diaspora, a lot of our immigrants, the people that emigrate, El Sablo, because of the war or because of the gangs or because of the economical issues that have always happened here. A lot of them are coming back. And there's a study made that Iom and UsAid. Sorry, I'll send you the link. Yes, there's a study made by the IOM and the USAID that says that 62% of Salvadorans living in the United States want to come back to live here.
TC: Amazing.
PNB: “62% and 18% already making plans to come. That's over half a million Salvadorans coming back. So that's super significant because, I mean, we expelled. We expelled them from their homes. Right. Because of crime, because of a war, because of lack of opportunities. And the fact that they're coming back is. I mean, is the biggest proof that we're doing things the right way? We have a long way to go, but we're doing things the right way.
TC: So after.
PNB: “We have many American-born citizens arriving, but there is also a significant number of Salvadoran Americans with U.S. citizenship coming here.
TC: Do you have the space?
PNB: “Well, it has created a housing bubble because, you know, we don't produce as much. Houses that are being bought. Are being bought right now, but that would create a temporary problem, which is the housing bubble, but then, which is not actually bubble. It's just, you know, the offer and.
TC: Yes, finding its own level.
PNB: “Yeah. So now, of course, construction companies know that the amount of houses they will build, they will sell them. So construction has become 20% of our GDP and is growing. So this is going to be a huge construction boom. And they have the clients. So it's not built in a bubble or speculation, but it feels like a bubble, but it's built. And people coming back home.
TC: Has any other head of state called you for advice on how to improve this country?
PNB: "Yes, indeed. Many have acknowledged this publicly. We hold meetings, primarily on security issues, engaging with numerous Latin American leaders. They've visited us, bringing their security ministers to confer with ours. They've also observed our prison system, which some attempt to measure against the United States' system. They note the absence of amenities like gyms and Netflix. However, it's more appropriate to compare El Salvador's prison system with those in Latin America, where, in many countries, gangs control the prisons, as they once did here."
TC: I remember that.
PNB: “Yes, they run. They had parties, prostitutes, strippers.
TC: It was autonomous here. I mean, you had to get their permission to go in.
PNB: “Yes, you have to get the permission to go in. They only have permission to get in. Food, medicine. But they control. They control the jails, not only in the suburb, they do it in most of the latin american countries. So gangsters or narcos, they will control the jails. Right. Their operation. They even go out and bag and get back. Yes. So we totally control that. And we have 100% control in our jail system. So that in american countries, look to our jail system to see if they can. They can fix their own. So we do a lot of cooperation in security issues, jails, army training. Do you know of even more powerful in bigger countries, of course.
TC: Have you ever, you know a lot of heads of state? Because you are one. Have you ever met a head of state who, when faced with a serious problem, a threat to his own country, would, in the middle of a cabinet meeting, pause and say a prayer?
PNB: “I don't recall, but, yeah, probably.
TC: Do you know anyone who would do that, do you think?
PNB: Yes, probably. Probably. I don't recall right now, but I.
TC: No, but that's just so far from the mindset of any leader I've ever interviewed, anyone who would admit I'm not sure what to do. Let's ask God.
PNB: “Yeah, probably not that common, but yeah, I would guess some leaders do it.
TC: How long do you plan to stay president?
PNB: “Yeah. Five years. Five years. That's, that's as much as the constitution allows me to.
TC: Thank you for talking to us.
PNB: “Thank you, Tucker.
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Just a miracle…
These historical tidbits illuminate the bizarre and eccentric aspects of the world we navigate—a world that can sometimes be the cruelest reality imaginable.…
Criminal activity has recently become a significant global threat. Disturbing statistics indicate that homicides have taken nearly half a million lives worldwide, exceeding the total deaths from armed conflicts and terrorist attacks within the same period. Addressing this issue requires an understanding of the intricate dynamics among Latin American gangs, firearm availability in Europe, and the extent of organized crime. Latin American gangs significantly impact the region's crime rates, engaging in violent conflicts to control lucrative illegal activities, affecting various societal facets and perpetuating violence cycles. In Europe, the ready availability of firearms intensifies the peril of criminal acts, empowering criminals and resulting in increased armed robberies, gang violence, and even terrorist incidents. The United Nations, recognizing this crisis's gravity, has set Sustainable Development Goal 16 to diminish violence and related deaths by 2030. Yet, given the ongoing crime rates, achieving this target appears daunting. An integrated strategy is essential to combat crime effectively and safeguard communities. This strategy should include investment in social programs that tackle the underlying causes of crime, enhance education and skills development, generate economic opportunities, and bolster international collaboration to break down transnational criminal networks.
Indeed, we inhabit a world that is fragmented and rife with animosity, underpinned by a fragile glass ceiling. Regrettably, numerous traditional politicians remain within their comfort zones despite challenging circumstances, which may appear beneficial. Yet, beyond this comfort zone persists the ongoing struggle of those who elected them, in anticipation of positive change. This represents a failure by many politicians. This truth is underscored by considering the recent results of the EU Parliament elections.
Salvadorans are renowned for their high level of education and exceptional work ethic. Many were forced to leave their homeland due to the dire conditions created by gang-related crimes. Many Salvadorans emigrated to the United States, where they were able to establish prosperous new lives. However, the "Maras Salvatruchas" gangs eventually expanded their influence there, extorting these industrious individuals. The cruelty of life's realities can be stark. The transformation in El Salvador has been profound, transitioning from a notorious murder capital to being considered one of the safest places in the region.
Time Magazine recently featured an article titled "Why We Still Turn to Magic in Difficult Times," authored by Tabitha Stanmore, a magic specialist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Exeter, UK, and known for her book "Cunning Folk." “In 1552, Protestant cleric Hugh Latimer preached in Lincolnshire, England, noting that troubled, sick, or bereft people often sought wizards or sorcerers, called wise men, for help and solace. Latimer considered this reliance on magic problematic, as it led devout Christians away from God. His era was filled with spells for various issues, and many cunning folk were willing to sell these spells to desperate clients. Despite Latimer's sermons against such practices, magic and mysticism survived, particularly in times of crisis. Tudor people's dependence on cunning folk was lamented by Latimer, but these individuals used every resource to overcome daily struggles. For instance, 16th-century cunning woman Joan Tyrry consulted fairies for children's illnesses, 15th-century vicar-magician William Dardus summoned spirits to find stolen goods, and in Latimer's time, a servant named Joan Hall obtained a spell for a prosperous marriage. The reliance on magic grew during times of great danger, like crop failures or wars, a trend that persists today as it did in the Early Modern period. The belief in magic and the supernatural endured over time, contrary to the belief that it waned during the Enlightenment, which was thought to herald an age of rationality and scientific progress. Instead, we find ourselves echoing our ancestors' tendencies in challenging times.
The transformation in El Salvador has materialized; the miracle is now a reality. Miracles stem from either profound belief or a fresh perspective combined with diligent work, from leaving the comfort of one's bed at dawn to engage in earnest labor. This transformation in El Salvador can be attributed to a remarkably young individual, Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, born on July 24, 1981. Elected as the president of El Salvador on June 1, 2019, President Bukele has consistently highlighted the role of seeking spiritual guidance through prayer in managing the intricacies of governance. His initiatives reach beyond local concerns, such as the disbandment of the MS-13 gang, to actively participating in dialogues about the global issues facing democracies today. Under his leadership, El Salvador has undergone a significant change in its reputation, transitioning from a well-known murder capital to being considered one of the safest places in the region. President Bukele has earned considerable respect for his achievements. Enjoy the recent interview with Tucker Carlson.