Lawfare practices in Central America: the cases of Nicaragua and El Salvador

Abstract

The fundamental objective of this scientific investigation is to dialogue with the research agenda that has the issue of lawfare as its object, not only as a relevant conceptual category, but also as something that is consistently presented, especially in Latin American countries. In this context, the locus of this article emerges: two Central American countries were chosen, Nicaragua (led by Nayib Bukele) and El Salvador (commanded by Daniel Ortega). As methods, in addition to observing the two cases in more detail, the proposal is to deepen, even with a limited literature available, how the commanders of El Salvador and Nicaragua vehemently use lawfare to embarrass their opponents. As conclusions, based on the debate in question, it is identified that the lawfare resource is one of the primary methods used by the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan governments to consolidate their permanence in power; the actions of criminalizing opponents and expanding powers are in different ideological groups; and the need, from the democratic point of view, to understand the use of the legal-institutional apparatus to protect the institutions themselves, without falling into the indiscriminate practice of lawfare.