Thinking Democratically: A Comprehensive Approach to Countering and Preventing Shrinking Space

petitions; awareness creation; street protests and demonstrations; counter-propaganda; research
and analysis; and training on personal and data security. Smaller political parties and opposition
parties have used their position in multiparty dialogue mechanisms to defend democratic space.
6.2 El Salvador
El Salvador is the Latin American country with the least support for democracy with only 28% of the
population in favour of democracy as a form of government. This indicator has plummeted since
2009, when 68% of the population supported this form of government. In terms of confidence in
institutions, it is the country with the least confidence in political parties (6%) and the judiciary (14%)
and the second least confidence in parliament (10%) in the whole of Latin America. At the basis of
this are a number of problems.
The electoral system had been designed as a cartel to keep those who are part of it in competition
and to keep outsiders away. Legal obstacles, such as the high electoral threshold that need to be
met for legal recognition as a party, hinder access to competition and make it difficult for new
independent parties and candidates to enter the realm of political power. In practice, the main
barrier is the flow of campaign expenses in political life; an evident limit to any new party or nonparty
proposal that wants to make its way in a sphere whose rules of the game are not equitable. In
addition to public party finance, illegal and legal private financing define representation and
legislative decision-making. Votes are exchanged for social benefits, public jobs and cash. The Law
on Political Parties is not enforced but systematically violated.
In addition to the creation of an uneven playing field by those in power, the total impunity in a
context of extreme violence is an onslaught both on civic space and on the rule of law. Many
journalists have been murdered with impunity, and a general environment of intimidation and
violence further limit freedom of assembly, expression and press. There is a high media concentration
and indirect coercion of media platforms by blocking and filtering content based on advertising
guidelines. Human rights violations by the state have gone unpunished. Different powers and
institutions with the power to control or monitor such cases, cover each other to evade responsibility.
The judiciary has been largely controlled by the executive, as exemplified by the removal of
constitution-protecting magistrates in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court.
In the face of the restriction of the democratic space, there has been some resistance from ad-hoc
civil society coalitions, using unconventional forms of participation. Such collective action has
primarily emerged around specific issues, such as harmful mining projects, water privatization and
pension reforms, with varying degrees of success.
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