Since taking office, according to the Wall Street Journal, a strategy Bukele implemented in 2022 of arresting suspected gang members en masse has brought the homicide rate down by 92 percent since 2015. It has put about 68,000 people from the country in prison, more than one percent of the population. 

Nine out of every 10 Salvadorans say they support Bukele, and the number of illegal immigrants from the country crossing the US-Mexico border has dropped 44 percent, per the Wall Street Journal. 

Reports show that the homicide rate in 2023 is now 2.3 per every 100,000 residents in the country—lower than anywhere else in Latin America. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that other leaders in Latin America have wanted to copy Bukele's tactics. "It’s simple, just copy him. Do what Bukele’s doing," said Cynthia Viteri. Viteri served as the mayor of the violet Ecuadorean city, Guayaquil, until May. 

Parents in impoverished neighborhoods have said that their children can go play outside without having to ask for permission like they used to. 

"I would vote for Bukele 10 more times,” Edwin Avalos, a restaurant owner, said. “Two years ago, I wouldn’t have opened a business here." Prior to the policies from Bukele, he had to pay $6,000 every year because of gang-led extortion.