Salvadorans will go to the polls next week to choose a president and 60 members of the Legislative Assembly. Most of this election cycle has focused on security issues and the economy, but there are several environmental issues worth considering, as well. Clean water, mining, climate change and protections for environmental defenders are all major concerns for conservation groups looking ahead to a new government. President Nayib Bukele, who took office in 2019 with his new party Nuevas Ideas, will likely win by a wide margin despite constitutional restrictions on running for a second term (a supreme court stacked with his supporters ruled he was eligible in 2021). Current polls show him with 90% favorability, largely because of a swift cleanup of gangs that dropped homicide rates to historically low levels. The other candidates — left-wing former lawmaker Manuel Flores and right-wing businessman Joel Sánchez — have little chance of winning, polls show. They’re both running with traditional political parties that have been mired in corruption and a lack of progress, which has frustrated Salvadorans of late. Flores said that the environment would be a key pillar of his platform but hasn’t gone public with many details. Sánchez has also been quiet on the topic. Bukele, meanwhile, has prioritized development and security over the environment, suggesting he won’t do much on the federal level to actively address major issues like drought, which has hit agricultural producers hard and contributed to outward migration. So far, his major policies appear in opposition…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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