El Salvador isn’t changing. It already has.

A few months ago, a tourism ad for El Salvador began popping up in my social media feed. It featured some vibrant, colourful landscapes, mouth-watering food and some of El Salvador’s world-class surf beaches. It all led to the compelling statement at the end with a slogan that read “El Salvador is changing” across the last screen.

In the weeks leading up to my much-anticipated trip last month, I had begun to hear more and more similar sentiments but not only from government-sponsored tourism ads but from first-hand accounts of the very people living through this ‘change’.

A change we had been praying for and looking forward to for many years but unfortunately, one that seemed unattainable. Personally, the letdown of previous governments who had had the opportunity to make a lasting and positive change but who had greatly missed the mark, was at the forefront of my mind. Understandably, it was hard to imagine that things could really look that different in such a short space of time. I was looking forward to seeing it for myself and seeing if it was really what it was promising to be. Deep down, I wondered, was all this just a very clever government advertising campaign?

As I headed off to El Salvador in the first week of March, I decided that I would remain cautiously optimistic, but also realistic about what this current government was claiming to be achieving. Although, I had to admit that the administration governing the country today was a little different.

Just a few short years ago, when the then Mayor of San Salvador Nayib Bukele made a run for the presidency at the 2019 elections, his campaign was marked by the overwhelming support of Salvadoreans.

It was the difference in Bukeles’s campaign that caught the attention of the Salvadorean people in the country and of the tens of thousands of those living abroad. Unlike his predecessors, Bukele chose not to sidestep the glaring issue that has perpetuated and sustained the high levels of poverty and violence in the country for decades - the alleged widespread political corruption.

Instead, Bukele chose to bring the issue to the forefront, adopting a confronting political slogan “There is enough money when no one steals”. Not only was this an obviously pointed finger at those who had held power and privilege for decades, but in doing so, set an incredibly high, some may say impossible, standard of transparency for his own administration. Not an easy road to take and indeed a very easy political sword to die on in a country like El Salvador, where decades of corruption at the highest levels have strengthened the roots of crime and astronomical levels of violence throughout the country.

Bukele was elected into power on June 1st 2019, in what was considered a landslide victory taking out approximately 54% of the votes (The Guardian, 2019). Known for not mincing his words, El Salvador’s 43rd president was like a breath of fresh air for a society that seemed to be in its death rolls, suffocating under unrelenting oppression and violence largely due to the gangs. An epidemic that has not had an easy solution and one that has infamously dominated and impacted every inch of people’s lives, causing terror every day and sparing no one.

For the majority of Salvadoreans living in this reality, any solution was better than none. March 2022’s outright declaration of a ‘war on gangs’ has not been without controversy, but has been welcomed with approximately 92% of the Salvadorean population supporting the measures taken by the new government in the last twelve months to tackle the problem (Reuters, 2023). The actions taken have resulted in a reported 65,000 alleged gang members being arrested and currently being held in prisons across the country (Reuters, 2023).

The statistics are impressive and unlike anything ever seen before in Latin America. However, the proof of the change I hoped to find wasn’t in the figures pointing to a drop in crime and violence.

It turned out to be in something much harder to describe and measure. It was in the way everyday Salvadoreans were now living and experiencing life since March 2022.

I arrived in El Salvador after almost 24 hrs of travelling. The following morning, I went off to my first meeting with our Women of Hope team to finalise our week around International Women’s Day. Later that afternoon, finally, after four years away, I found myself surrounded by family. This side of my family is largely dominated by strong women. Around the table sat my aunties who are well into their 70s and some who are in their early 80s, most of whom still rise well before 5 am every day to get to work. As I sat at the table over our long lunch, I began, as I usually do, to reacquaint myself with their faces and features. The wonder of how much the resemblances have been passed on to my generation never fails to escape me.

That day, as we sat together, I found myself trying to put my finger on what seemed different about them. Then it dawned on me, I leaned in and interrupted the conversation with, “You all look younger. You look younger! what is going on?!” Everyone at the table burst out laughing, they thought I was being cute (they still see me as the eight-year-old who left El Salvador in 1985) and they were obviously flattered by the compliment.

The truth was, they did look younger, about ten years younger.

Even in those first few hours in El Salvador, I could already feel that something significant had shifted. This trip already felt very different.

Just the day before, on my flight over from LA to El Salvador, as the plane was taxing the runway, the pilot had suddenly come on over the loudspeaker and excitedly announced, “El Salvador awaits us!”. This had been met with resounding cheers and applause from the passengers and that five-hour flight had the chatty party-like atmosphere that seemed more suited to a party bus in Melbourne on a Friday night than on a commercial flight from LA to what was only VERY recently the country ranked as number ONE most murderous in the world!

The day after my family lunch, I had planned to spend a few hours at the local market in Mejicanos to meet and speak with women about the issue of domestic violence.

Everywhere I looked, people appeared to instinctively move about differently - including me. Feeling a significant measure of safety, I brought out our big Salvador’s HOPE camera in the middle of the market. In comparison to my previous visits, when I felt I had achieved something if I'd managed to take a quick 30-second video on my phone due to the serious security and safety concerns, this spoke volumes.

That day in Mejicanos, with a police presence on nearly every street corner, apparently, the only suspicious activity that day at the market seemed to be coming from ME!! I have now learned that asking to photograph police officers within the current climate in El Salvador is a big No No!

My request led to me being promptly followed into the market by the two policemen who had declined to have their photo taken. It all got very real for me when as I was being followed closely behind, I heard them radio me in!

Thankfully, their concerns seemed to have been quickly eased by the sight of my aunties, cousins and other locals warmly embracing me in the market. So much so that about two hours later, the very same police officers asked to have their photo taken while they enjoyed their lunch.

(Photographed here with permission- is one of those police officers doing a very good job!).

This is El Salvador 😊. And that day turned out to be a wonderful day at the market with the women. I was surprised by the newfound ease and openness of these women who were ready and willing to talk about the next lot of serious and unresolved issues within Salvadorean society that continue to impact their lives every day. The majority were more than willing to talk about finding a way out and breaking the generational patterns of violence in their own families.

As the week progressed and our events for International Women’s Day were successfully rolled out, I tried my best to remain neutral to the politics and debate. I listened to the various opinions from both sides regarding the president’s bold and radical moves to deal with the gangs. Moves that have attracted some pretty harsh criticism from international NGOs and Human Rights organisations for the tough stance he has taken to establish and bring peace and order to the majority of the country.

But by the end of that week, the truth didn’t escape me. I was seeing it for myself in the faces of so many women, men and children. These beautiful Salvadorean people have finally stopped running for their lives and, for the first time in decades, can now stop and breathe a deep breath of renewed hope and life. A reality that permeates throughout the country.

My response up to that point had been measured partly because I felt that so much was riding on this hope. We have been praying to see this change in El Salvador for years.

Remaining neutral on the Nayib Bukele debate and adopting my own carefully worded slogan, “I'm cautiously optimistic" was serving me well, that is, until my cover was blown by my close encounter with the Presidential motorcade.

On the afternoon of our very first and incredibly beautiful girls’ conference, ‘Arise and Shine!’ exhausted and happy, we were making our way back to the accommodation when on the freeway, I noticed the flashing lights heading towards us on the opposite side.

Realising that Nayib’s motorcade was fast approaching, I fumbled through my backpack for my phone. My well-prepared, measured response and neutral stance on Nayib did little to help me in the moment, and in my sheer excitement, the only thing that I managed to record was about five seconds of my own feet.

So, with honesty and transparency, I admit I'm very excited, so excited and thankful for what I have just seen in El Salvador. Has the solution to this enormous problem been perfect? by no means, no. But I dare ask anyone to provide a perfect solution for a nation so gravelly impacted by injustice, war, generational violence and trauma. Acknowledging, however, that there is much heartbreak for families on all sides caught up in all this.

For Salvador’s HOPE, the focus is to take hold of this moment to continue to push for change and advocate for women and girls. We pray that restoration flows down into the lives of girls and women as the people of El Salvador now have the space to contemplate change around interpersonal violence and abuse. The problem of gender-based violence is deeply ingrained and it’s going to take time to turn the tide on this.

My prayer is that what we are seeing occur in El Salvador is something that is long-lasting and good. For now, we rejoice that El Salvador is experiencing what appears to be a transformational change.

I’ll be updating you on our programs and the strides you have helped us take in the last few weeks in our next newsletter!

Your donations are making a lasting change for the most vulnerable. Thank you!

Vania Labios xx