El Salvador: The Country Where Prisons Became More Popular Than Football

Just ten years ago, El Salvador stubbornly topped the rankings of the world’s most dangerous countries. Tourist brochures discreetly omitted the fact that your chances of running into an armed gang on the street were much higher than finding an open coffee shop. Statistically, the homicide rate per capita confidently rivaled the number of beaches, and the streets of the capital were adorned not with store signs, but with gang graffiti.

But times change, and El Salvador decided to play the “bad cop” on a grand scale. The authorities declared an all-out war on street gangs—not for life, but for freedom. As a result of this campaign, the murder rate plummeted fiftyfold, and the country transformed from a criminal hellhole into something close to a laboratory for crime-fighting.

However, such success required inventing a new national sport: mass incarceration. Nearly one and a half percent of the country’s population—over 90,000 people—ended up behind bars. For comparison: if this logic were applied to Russia, you’d have to build extra walls around entire regions.

The special twist to this reform was the speed of arrests and the complete lack of bureaucratic red tape—courts, lawyers, and even the hope of release are now more myth than reality for many detainees. Saving time, avoiding lengthy legal battles—all for the greater goal of public safety.

Now, the streets of El Salvador are as safe as a bank vault (unless you plan to store your freedom there). Locals can enjoy evening strolls, and tourists can take selfies without fear of ending up in the crime section of the news. But for those who are too eager about human rights, it’s better to choose another destination for your vacation.

Today, El Salvador is an example of how the iron fist of the state can quickly restore order. But the question of the price remains open. Freedom is a delicate thing: if you sweep it away too energetically, you might lose sight of the very essence of order.