Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Communication

First Committee Advisor

Michael Socolow

Second Committee Member

Liliana Herakova

Third Committee Member

Nathan Stormer

Abstract

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has become famous around the world for his policies on criminality and his popularity among the Salvadoran population. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis examines Bukele’s rhetoric in five speeches that he delivered during his constitutional term between the years 2019 and 2023: his Inauguration speech, and the four subsequent Addresses to the Nation that all Salvadoran Presidents are legally required to provide every year. These texts were important for governance in El Salvador because they were broadcast live, to the entire nation, and were given wide coverage by the media which amplified President Bukele’s messages. By reviewing President Bukele’s rhetorical strategies and the subjects the President chose to address and ignore, the authoritarian leader’s historical revisionism, embedded in his rhetoric, is revealed as a propaganda and political strategy. To validate his presidency and policies, Bukele strategically rewrites El Salvador's past. When he portrayed the pre-Bukele era (including the Peace Accords) negatively, he exploited existing public dissatisfaction with previous political factions to position himself as the nation’s savior. To be successful, he deliberately ignored nuance about the Peace Accords' historical significance, and he downplayed documented human rights abuses. He also attacked the credibility of those who dared to speak up. By closely reading and critically analyzing President Bukele’s Inaugural Address, and subsequent Addresses to the Nation, this thesis offers a model for understanding the rhetorical positioning and communication strategies of democratically elected authoritarian leaders.

Download

Available for download on Tuesday, June 16, 2026

Share