From hope to madness: a blow to democracy in El Salvador and the media's attempt to speak out

For the first time, as an adult and as a journalist, I experience the fear of speaking freely; I fear for my loved ones, for all the journalists who still believe that holding power accountable is a duty.

May 5, 2021

Laura Aguirre

I wasn't born with the freedom to express myself without fear. In the early 1980s, doing so was just a dream. It took 12 years of war and 75,000 deaths before people in El Salvador could finally speak, express their opinions, read, write, and publish without fear of persecution.

I grew up in a country of hope, becoming an adult believing there was still so much to be done, and that a better place for everyone was possible because we could criticize, point things out, and demand change loudly and without fear. But I also witnessed a democracy that never reached everyone, how the economic and political elites—both old and new—used their power for the benefit of a few, and the profound disappointment and disillusionment of the majority in the face of inequality.

Barely thirty years after the signing of that hopeful agreement, we have returned to the madness of authoritarianism. On the night of May 1, 2021, what remained of El Salvador's democratic system was destroyed . This time, it was done with the very tools of democracy, by a parliament tailored to its needs and under the direct orders of the executive branch.

For the first time, as an adult and as a journalist, I am experiencing the fear of speaking freely. I fear for my loved ones, for all the journalists who still believe that holding power to account is a duty. I know that my fundamental right to free speech no longer exists in El Salvador. But that doesn't mean we will remain silent. We have not relinquished our right to speak, nor will we.

This article was published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation . Laura Aguirre is a journalist, sociologist, and director of the feminist digital media outlet Alharaca .

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