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Karim Bukele

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Bukele and the second or maternal family name is Ortez.
Karim Bukele
Karim Bukele facing forward and looking to the left
Bukele in 2023
Born
Karim Alberto Bukele Ortez

(1986-03-10) 10 March 1986 (age 38)
El Salvador
Occupation(s)Businessman, politician
Organization(s)Obermet S.A. de C.V.
Global Motors, S.A de C.V.
Political partyNuevas Ideas
FatherArmando Bukele
RelativesNayib Bukele (brother)
Yusef Bukele (brother)
Ibrajim Bukele (brother)

Karim Alberto Bukele Ortez (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈɾim buˈkele]; born 10 March 1986) is a Salvadoran businessman and politician. He is a younger brother of and was a presidential advisor to Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador. Bukele has previously worked as Nayib's campaign manager during his 2015 and 2019 electoral campaigns as well as the campaign manager for the Nuevas Ideas political party in 2021. In late-2023, Bukele was considered a likely candidate to succeed Nayib as acting president in the event that he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election, however, Bukele denied that he would succeed Nayib.

Early life

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Karim Alberto Bukele Ortez was born on 10 March 1986 in El Salvador.[1] His father was Armando Bukele Kattán and his mother is Olga Marina Ortez. Karim has an older brother, Nayib, and two younger twin brothers, Yusef and Ibrajim. In addition, Bukele also has four half-sisters and two half-brothers from his father's side of the family.[2]

Business ventures

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In 2006, Bukele, Andrés García, Ernesto Castro, and Bukele's older brother Nayib co-founded Sociedad 503 S.A. de C.V., a company which operates restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.[3] In April 2012, Bukele became the president of Obermet S.A. de C.V. (also known as 4am Saatchi & Saatchi El Salvador)[4] and as its CEO since 2014.[5][6] He was also one of the company's legal representatives.[7] Bukele was the CEO of Global Motors, S.A de C.V. until 20 July 2017 when he was succeeded by his brother Ibrajim. In October 2023, the El Faro digital newspaper alleged that Global Motors, S.A de C.V. secretly received 16 checks from the Banco Hipotecario amounting to US$118,143.23 from 2017 to 2019. El Faro alleged that the checks came from then-President Salvador Sánchez Cerén's supposed black budget.[8]

Political career

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Campaign manager

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Bukele became a close advisor to his older brother Nayib during the latter's term as mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán from 2012 to 2015.[2] During Nayib's 2015 campaign to be elected as mayor of San Salvador, Bukele served as Nayib's campaign manager[9] and coached him for his public speeches.[2]

As he did in 2015, Bukele was Nayib's campaign manager during the 2019 presidential election.[10] Nayib ran his campaign with the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA). In December 2018, after Nayib accused the Supreme Electoral Court of fraud by refusing to change GANA's color from orange to blue on the electoral ballot (as it had recently changed its official color), Bukele stated that "it is not just the color, the people know how to vote for the swallow, but when are they [the TSE] going to stop" ("No es solo el color, si la gente sabe bien cómo votar por la golondrina, si no cuándo van a parar").[11] After Nayib refused to participate in the first presidential debate, Bukele stated that Nayib would not attend as there was no guarantee by the University of El Salvador, the organizers of the debate, that the debate would be impartial.[12] Juan José Figueroa, a campaign advisor for Hugo Martínez of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), called Bukele and Nayib "liars and cowards" ("mentirosos y cobardes") for refusing to attend the debate.[13] On election day, Nayib won 53 percent of the vote, an outright majority, in the first round.[14]

Bukele was the campaign manager for the Nuevas Ideas political party during the 2021 legislative election,[15] in which, the party won supermajorities in the Legislative Assembly, municipalities, and the Central American Parliament.[16][17]

Presidential advisor

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Nayib Bukele and Karim Bukele sitting at a conference table
Nayib (left) and Karim (right) in May 2020

After Nayib assumed office on 1 June 2019, Bukele was not named as one of Nayib's 16 cabinet members, however, Bukele became one of Nayib's most important presidential advisors. The Salvadoran digital newspaper El Faro describes Bukele as a "political strategist and speechwriter" who "define[s] the direction of the presidency".[2] In their 2023 book The Oligarchs' Grip: Fusing Wealth and Power, David Lingelbach and Valentina Rodríguez Guerra described Bukele as Nayib's "chief of staff".[18] In April 2020, Fabio Castillo, a former secretary of the FMLN, stated that Bukele is "the only one who can have influence [over Nayib]" ("el único que puede tener influencia [sobre Nayib]"), that he is "more intelligent than the president" ("más inteligente que el presidente"), and that he has "an incredible influence over the affairs of the state that [he] should not have" ("una influencia increíble en los asuntos del estado que no [debería] tener").[19]

Bukele accompanied Nayib on his presidential visit to China in December 2019.[2] The Chinese government considered Bukele an important figure during the presidential visit,[20] and Chinese ambassador to El Salvador Ou Jianhong personally thanked Bukele on Twitter for his "valuable work and important contributions".[2]

On 6 December 2019, former Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes accused Bukele, deputy Guillermo Gallegos, Director of the National Civil Police Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, and Intelligence Director Peter Dumas of plotting an "illegal" ("ilegal") operation to capture him in Nicaragua and bring him back to El Salvador to face legal proceedings.[21] Two days later, Funes accused five students of the Colonel Andrade Cabrera Military College of attempting to kidnap him; he later retracted his accusation, but continued to insist that he had uncovered Bukele's plot to capture him.[22]

In May 2020, Bukele negotiated an agreement with legislators of the Nationalist Republican Alliance, the Grand Alliance for National Unity, the National Coalition Party, and the Christian Democratic Party regarding how to distribute US$1 billion of financial aid to companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] He also negotiated with those same parties to approve the Quarantine Law which allowed the Armed Forces of El Salvador and the National Civil Police to arrest individuals who had violated the country's nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.[23]

Karim (far-right) touring the National Library in November 2023

On 9 June 2021, the Legislative Assembly voted to pass a bill to make bitcoin legal tender in El Salvador. After the bill was passed, blockchain investor Nic Carter opened a virtual space for businessmen and bitcoin enthusiasts to discuss the law passed in El Salvador. Bukele joined the virtual space, and when asked about what the opposition in the Legislative Assembly was arguing regarding the bill, he responded by stating "Just bullshit, I don’t know". He also stated that "This is just the beginning. We do not know where it will take us. We are new to this" ("Esto es solo el inicio. No sabemos a dónde nos llevará esto. Somos nuevos en esto").[24]

On 18 April 2023, Bukele announced that YouTubers and other content creators would be allowed to obtain press credentials to cover sessions of the Legislative Assembly.[25] Bukele was the president of the organizing committee for the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games which were held in San Salvador.[26] On 14 November 2023, Bukele accompanied Nayib, Eric Doradeo, the vice minister of culture, and Zhang Yanhu, the Chinese ambassador to El Salvador, on a filmed tour of the newly-built National Library of El Salvador.[27]

Bukele accompanied Nayib on 26 October 2023 when the latter initiated the process to register his 2024 re-election campaign.[28] Bukele has denied rumors that he would be appointed as acting president in the event that Nayib resigns early to be able to run for re-election in the 2024.[15][29][30] Furthermore, the constitution of El Salvador prohibits family members of the incumbent president from assuming the presidency.[31] Regardless, Bukele remained a popular candidate to succeed Nayib as acting president[30][32] until the Legislative Assembly officially designated Claudia Rodríguez de Guevara as the country's acting president on 30 November.[33]

Personal life

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In 2021, Attorney General Raúl Melara launched an investigation into Bukele, Yusef, and Ibrajim regarding allegations of arbitrary acts, document falsification, and embezzlement.[34] The investigation, known as Operation Cathedral which alleged that the three were the leaders of a "complex network of corruption",[35] was suspended following Melara's removal by the Legislative Assembly and his subsequent replacement by Rodolfo Delgado.[34]

On 28 August 2022, Twitter user Luis Rivas was arrested by the National Civil Police for reporting that Bukele was with his girlfriend at a Salvadoran beach while accompanied by a heavy security detail. Delgado justified the arrest by stating that "Freedom of expression is one thing and it is another to attack the integrity of people. Freedom of expression cannot be used to commit crimes" ("Una cosa es la libertad de expresión y otra es atentar contra la integridad de las personas. La libertad de expresión no puede ser usada para cometer delitos").[36] Rivas was released on 5 September 2022 but was shortly again re-arrested on undisclosed charges.[37]

References

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  1. ^ Canizalez, Luis; Pérez, David Ernesto (19 November 2021). "Cómo los Bukele se Hicieron Millonarios" [How the Bukeles Became Millionaires]. Revista Elementos (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Alvarado, Jimmy; Labrador, Gabriel; Arauz, Sergio (17 June 2020). "The Bukele Clan that Rules with Nayib". El Faro. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  3. ^ Gressier, Roman; Labrador, Gabriel (25 October 2021). "Bukele's Party Now Has a Clone in Guatemala". El Faro. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. ^ "ANEP: se Debe Analizar Caso OBERMET a la Luz de LACAP" [ANEP: The OBERMET Case Should Be Analyzed in Light of LACAP]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 15 January 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Karim Bukele". 4am Saatchi & Saatchi El Salvador (in Spanish). 22 May 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Yusef Bukele: "La Gente ya no Piensa por Sí Misma"" [Yusef Bukele: "People no Longer Think for Themselves"]. Contra Punto (in Spanish). 11 April 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Los Hombres que Arriban al Poder Junto con Nayib Bukele" [The Men Who Rise to Power Together with Nayib Bukele]. La Página (in Spanish). 17 February 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  8. ^ Lemus, Efren; Cáceres, Gabriela (31 October 2023). "Empresa de los Hermanos Bukele Recibió $118,143 de la Partida Secreta de Sánchez Cerén" [Bukele's Brothers' Company Received $118,143 from Sánchez Cerén's Secret Budget]. El Faro (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  9. ^ Arauz, Sergio (16 March 2015). "¿Quién ha Ganado la Alcaldía de San Salvador: Nayib Bukele o el FMLN?" [Who Won the Mayorship of San Salvador: Nayib Bukele or the FMLN?]. El Faro (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  10. ^ Vida, Melissa (16 June 2019). "El Salvador's Trump Takes Office". Foreign Policy (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  11. ^ Romero, Fernando; Avelar, Bryan (10 December 2018). "GANA Corrige a su Candidato Nayib Bukele: "No Hay Fraude"" [GANA Corrects its Candidate Nayib Bukele: "There is No Fraud"]. Revista Factum (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Karim Bukele: Quedamos que Habrían más Reuniones para Acordar Todo lo del Debate" [Karim Bukele: We Agreed that There Would Be More Meetings to Agree on Everything in the Debate]. Última Hora (in Spanish). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Asesor de Hugo Martínez Llamó Cobardes a los Hermanos Bukele" [Advisor to Hugo Martínez Called Bukele's Brothers Cowards]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 13 December 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ Gonzalez, Elizabeth (4 February 2019). "Bukele Breaks El Salvador's Two-Party Hold on Power". AS/COA. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  15. ^ a b Martínez, Verónica (21 October 2023). "Karim Bukele Niega Rumores Sobre Designación Presidencial" [Karim Bukele Denies Rumors Regarding Presidential Designation]. La Noticia SV (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  16. ^ Harrison, Chase (31 May 2022). "In El Salvador, a Chastened Opposition Looks to Find Its Way". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  17. ^ Webber, Jude (2 May 2021). "El Salvador's President Seizes Control of Top Court with Firing of Judges". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  18. ^ Lingelbach, David; Rodríguez Guerra, Valentina (2023). The Oligarchs' Grip: Fusing Wealth and Power. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 9783111029320. OCLC 1381184684. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  19. ^ "Fabio Castillo: Los Hermanos del Presidente Tienen una Influencia en los Asuntos de Estado que no Deberían Tener" [Fabio Castillo: The Brothers of the President Have Influence in the Affairs of the State that They Should Not Have]. El Liberal (in Spanish). 30 April 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  20. ^ Ellis, Evan (March 2021). "China and El Salvador: An Update". Center for Strategic and International Studies. JSTOR resrep30086.
  21. ^ Villarán, Julio (6 December 2019). "Funes Señala a Karim Bukele, Guillermo Gallegos, Peter Dumas y Mauricio Arriaza de Planear un Operativo Ilegal para Capturarlo" [Funes Signals that Karim Bukele, Guillermo Gallegos, Peter Dumas, and Mauricio Arriaza Are Planning an Illegal Operation to Capture Him]. La Página (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  22. ^ Villarán, Julio (8 December 2019). "Funes Acusa a Cinco Estudiantes de Bachillerato de Quererlo Secuestrar, y Luego se Disculpa" [Funes Accuses Five High School Students of Wanting to Kidnap Him, and Then Apologizes]. La Página (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  23. ^ Lazo, Roxana (5 May 2020). "ARENA Pacta con el Hermano del Presidente un Decreto que Normaliza las Detenciones Arbitrarias" [ARENA and the President's Brother Craft a Decree That Normalizes Arbitrary Detentions]. El Faro (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  24. ^ Benítez, Beatriz; Oliva, Xenia (10 June 2021). "Asamblea de Bukele Aprueba Ley Bitcoin sin Evaluar el Impacto en la Economía" [Bukele's Assembly Approves the Bitcoin Law Without Evaluating the Impact on the Economy]. Gato Encerrado (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  25. ^ Rauda Zablah, Nelson (17 May 2023). "You've Seen Bukele's Twitter. We Should Talk About His YouTube Tricks". El Faro (digital newspaper) (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  26. ^ Martínez, Juan (24 June 2023). "XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games Commence in El Salvador". The Rio Times. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  27. ^ Maldonado, Javier (14 November 2023). "Bukele Recorre la Nueva Biblioteca Nacional Antes de Inaugurarla y Dejarla Abierta al Público" [Bukele Tours the New National Library Before Inaugurating It and Opening It to the Public]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  28. ^ Magaña, Yolanda (27 October 2023). "Presidente Bukele Pide al TSE lo Inscriba en Contienda Presidencial" [President Bukele Asks the TSE to Register Him in the Presidential Race]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  29. ^ Merlos, Ricardo (22 October 2023). "Karim Bukele Desmiente Rumores Sobre ser Designado Presidencial" [Karim Bukele Dismisses Rumors Regarding Presidential Designation]. Las Cosas Como Son (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  30. ^ a b Peñate, Susana (28 November 2023). "Karim Bukele Descarta que Sustituya al Presidente los Siguientes Seis Meses" [Karim Bukele Denies that He Will Substitute the President in the Subsequent Six Months]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  31. ^ Silva Ávalos, Héctor (2 December 2023). "Quién es Claudia Juana Rodríguez, la Tesorera de la Familia Bukele que Asumió como Presidenta de El Salvador por Seis Meses" [Who is Claudia Juana Rodríguez, the Treasurer of Bukele's Family Who Assumed as President of El Salvador for Six Months]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  32. ^ López, Griselda (18 November 2023). "Analistas Consideran que Karim Bukele Podría Sustituir al Presidente de la República" [Analysts Consider that Karim Bukele Could Substitute the President of the Republic]. La Noticia SV (in Spanish). San Salvador, El Salvador. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  33. ^ Campos Madrid, Gabriel (30 November 2023). "Asamblea Otorga Permiso a Bukele para que Realice Campaña" [Assembly Grants Bukele Permission to Realize His Campaign]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  34. ^ a b Urbina, Javier (30 December 2021). "Fiscalía Investigó a Hermanos de Nayib Bukele" [The Attorney General Investigated Nayib Bukele's Brothers]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  35. ^ Alvarado, Jimmy (23 August 2022). "Salvadoran AG Buried Evidence of Corruption in Covid-19 Food Contracts Worth $22.7 Million". El Faro. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  36. ^ "Detenido en El Salvador un Tuitero por Informar del Hermano de Bukele" [A Twitter User Detained in El Salvador for Informing Regarding Bukele's Brother]. La Hora (in Spanish). 6 September 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  37. ^ "El Salvador 2022 Human Rights Report" (PDF). Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. c. 2022. p. 15. Retrieved 17 November 2023.

Further reading

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