92% of citizens, that is, nine out of 10, strongly agree with the measures that the Executive is promoting against gang members under the implementation of the exception regime, according to data projected in the latest CID-survey. Gallup.
One of these actions is the construction of the Terrorism Containment Center (Cecot), in Tecoluca, San Vicente, to which 4,000 criminals have already been transferred.
According to statistics presented by the Public Security Cabinet, since March 27, 2021, when the state of emergency began, 66,417 gang members have been captured.
Another of the actions applied by the Executive was the presentation of a list of legal reforms, which were approved by the Legislative Assembly in March 2022, with the aim of toughening prison sentences against gang members and guaranteeing the protection of victims. and the judges who hear criminal proceedings linked to criminal structures.
“Citizens perceive that those who are considered the main culprits of the country being immersed in a wave of violence and crime for years – the gangs – have been attacked and through this measure the Government has greater capacity to act against the gangs, allowing that the Police, the Army and the judges can arrest and send to prison any person who is associated with any of these groups”, indicates the report of the CID-Gallup survey, carried out between March 14 and 27 to 1,200 people nationwide.
The survey -whose confidence level is 95%- also details that barely 6% of the citizens consulted expressed that they are little or not at all in agreement with the actions of the Public Security authorities against gang members, and only 2 Remaining % did not answer or said they did not know.
With the exception regime, 3,292 vehicles, 15,878 cell phones and $3 million in cash that were in the possession of gang members, and that are the product of criminal activities such as extortion, have also been confiscated.
These security actions, which the political opposition continues to oppose, have borne fruit, because currently -according to the same opinion poll- only 1% consider that crime and violence continue to be the main problem in the country, which means that for the 99% it is no longer a social scourge that harms them.
The president of the republic, Nayib Bukele, commented on the results of the survey, writing on Twitter: “Gallup: Only 1 in 100 Salvadorans cites violence as the main problem in the country. 1 OUT OF 100. In what until a few years ago was the most dangerous country in the world. Thank God”.
The survey by the renowned pollster found that in January 2019, when Salvador Sánchez Cerén was still president of the republic, 24% of the population indicated that the main problem in the country was violence and crime, and 20% said they had been a victim of crime.
On the other hand, he projected that for 84% of the citizens consulted, El Salvador is on the right track with President Nayib Bukele, whose victory in the 2019 elections broke with the bipartisanship of ARENA and FMLN that governed for 30 years, and its officials now face criminal proceedings for acts of corruption.
“What influences your fellow citizens to evaluate your government positively? The answer seems to lie in the work it has done to provide security to its citizens, an area in which almost the entire population mentions that its performance has been positive,” says CID-Gallup. Only 7% thought that the country is heading in the wrong direction, while the remaining 9% did not respond.
These data contrast significantly with those that said polling house obtained in January 2019 (when Sánchez Cerén, from the FMLN, governed), and revealed that 65% of the population said that the country was headed in the wrong direction, 12% did not respond and only 23% were optimistic.
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