Law and Order Leadership Tops Global Polls – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

A man the Wall Street Journal dubbed “one of the biggest right-wing icons in the world” is also the most popular leader of any nation on earth. Ninety-one percent of residents approve of President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele as of last month, reported Salvadoran newspaper La Noticia. 

With riots consuming the streets of Los Angeles, many Americans have crime and safety first on their mind. Bukele walked into a nation wracked by crime and earned his reputation by cracking down on it.

At its peak in 2015, El Salvador had a homicide rate of 106.3 per 100,000 people, totaling nearly 7,000 deaths total. This made it the single most dangerous country in the world. Gangs such as MS-13, founded by Salvadorans in the United States, ruled large swaths of the country and slaughtered without the oversight of the law. 

Against this backdrop of “bloody anarchy,” Bukele was elected president in a landslide in 2019 as a third-party candidate facing El Salvador’s traditional two-party system. The International Crisis Group advised him to deal with “perpetual violence” by lobbying the United States to end deportations.

Instead, Bukele cracked down on crime. He declared a state of emergency and vowed to treat the tens of thousands of gang members as terrorists. El Salvador went from having the highest murder rate in the world to having the highest incarceration rate. He achieved these successes as liberal groups balked at “the high price of safety” over allegations that due process rights had been violated.

In response, murder rates fell by 98 percent. The rate is now sitting at 1.9 per 100,000 people. The entire country had just 114 homicides in 2024. This makes it the safest nation in the western hemisphere and safer than 95 out of the 100 largest American cities.

The most comprehensive listing of global leadership approval is maintained by the polling firm Morning Consult. Morning Consult does not track Bukele. However, right-wing leaders top the charts there.

Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, who has overseen wide-reaching reforms, had an approval rating of 60 percent. These results also show Donald Trump with higher net approval than ever recorded during his first term, at 50 percent approval to 44 percent disapproval. 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum racked up a 52 percent approval rating, a sharp decline from her high of 81 percent near the beginning of the Trump presidency. 

Bukele and those associated with him provide clear examples of law-and-order leadership succeeding in winning over voters and nations.

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