36 Comments
User's avatar
Carson's avatar

Did the locals you interacted with seem optimistic?

Their long national nightmare is over, but does it feel there is a Salvadoran Dream to aspire to?

Cremieux's avatar

INCREDIBLY.

They were ecstatic, and you could easily yell "Viva Bukele!" and get people yelling it back.

Everyone is *so happy* about Bukele, from cab drivers to kids running around shanties on the side of the road. I didn't realize how extreme the approval was until I experienced it.

So much of their country was no-go zones not long ago, that Bukele's rule is something beyond refreshing.

Joseph Davidson's avatar

I cannot comment on El Salvador, but increasing obesity in Mexico correlates with a very successful marketing campaign by Coca Cola.

Alfred's avatar

And McDonald's, and Burger King, and KFC, etc. and surely all the local brands as well. It's an industry, not a corporation. Joseph

Owen Lewis's avatar

Just wait for the Left to say how low crime is actually bad.

Mallard's avatar

>Because the drugs are not cheap, they’ll have to do something else

Could oral GLP-1s potentially be produced cheaply enough to be affordable in poor countries?

Cremieux's avatar

Not for the foreseeable future. Maybe with patent infringement though!

Alex F's avatar

Thank you, these are some very interesting takeaways!

Wally's avatar

Just got back from a 4 week trip through EL Salvador - absolutely loved it! The people were wonderful, the country is beautiful, the local food is great, we felt very safe everywhere. Salvadorians do love their fireworks, especially at Christmas!

WP's avatar
Jan 24Edited

Why were you with a bunch of gay and trans guys? Were they going to the right wing conference? Not even trying to attack just genuinely curious

Tim R's avatar

This is great, I was hoping you'd do a substack after reading your x posts. What did you notice regarding the tourism infrastructure once you made it into the city and traveled through the country? Do you see/hear that they're adding resorts/activites/etc? Could you envision a future where it heads in a Costa Rica type path? Perhaps with more industry? Great post, thanks for sharing

Cremieux's avatar

There wasn't a lot of it outside of a few specific areas. You really need to know Spanish to get around.

Alfred's avatar

Of course, like the default reaction from your friend about due process, it's about the criminals not society. It's a situation we have in cities like San Francisco, where the few are allowed to hold tyranny over the rest. Of course this is with the complicity of the liberals and their misplaced empathy.

Fullantho's avatar

What part of Mexico was this? El Salvador would be the poorest state in Mexico

forumposter123@protonmail.com's avatar

Are you gay? The friend group you provided seems statistically abnormal.

Cremieux's avatar

No, I'm just in tech.

Fojos's avatar

It's a great result, but I do wonder if it will hold, or if eventually gangs will return but without clear signs they're gangs.

Alistair Penbroke's avatar

I wonder how risky the CECOT strategy is. It's surprising the gangs weren't able to interfere with its construction or break their compadres out of it, and I wonder if it will be able to remain completely secure. If there's a successful prison break in that sort of environment it could be horrific.

Marcos Bento's avatar

when I travelled in Colombia I remarked how simple "international" food like pasta and pizza was expensive, from a Brazilian perspective. If I wanted a cheap meal I needed to eat like locals, things like caldo de costilla and tamales were wholesome, tasty and cheap (for an open minded Brazilian).

Guersom Falcon Vega's avatar

Are they avid soccer fans?