They Are Against What We Have Been Led To Believe

Discourses On Polarization In El Salvador

Abstract

Since 2019, with the arrival of Nayib Bukele in the presidency, there have been relevant changes in the party system, political regime, and the dynamics of political culture. This article reports on qualitative research that explored discourses on current issues and polarization in El Salvador. The study was carried out between 2021 and 2022 with the participation of 66 Salvadoran people distributed in 11 focus groups developed in the national territory and the United States. Participants were intentionally selected based on whether they identified themselves as supporters or detractors of the president and his administration. The analysis of the themes explored produced three discursive categories that were triangulated with survey data: social cohesion and conflict, national problems and future perspectives, and democracy and populism. The main findings suggest the existence of critical positions toward the government that draw tension between pessimism and optimism towards the future, consensus as part of the polarizing duality, and silence as a daily strategy to avoid or hide conflict. Despite an installed narrative according to which polarization does not exist, the research suggests that the president is currently the main instigator of confrontation in El Salvador and that polarization persists under new expressions —apparently— far from the well-known ideological-partisan contest.