The Salvadoran economy is, despite contrary opinions, the one with the lowest growth rate in the Central American region.
Recent surveys show that the battered family economy is the issue of greatest concern for citizens, with a high cost of living and an insufficient employment market.
In the first years of his first term it was evident that the fiscal issue set the agenda due to the closure of the international market to obtain financing due to the delay in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Despite a good start in 2019 with 2.4 percent growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a rate very similar to that reported in 2018, the following year, 2020, the economy was affected by the collapse of the GDP in -7.8 percent, the worst drop since the civil war of the 1980s.
However, in 2021, in a single year what was lost was recovered and there was an increase of 11.9 percent. In 2023, GDP grew by 3.51 percent according to the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), despite the effects on the international market due to inflation, war conflicts and interest rate adjustments.
Among Bukele’s challenges is to promote the employment of nearly 2.9 million workers towards formal sectors, since now 49.1 percent of employed Salvadorans are in the formal sector and the rest in the informal sector.
Another challenge is related to dedicating more resources to public investment, key to the economic progress and well-being of the population.
A notable challenge that surveys and studies point out is that in the country there are more than 1.92 million people living in poverty, the highest number since 2018 when there were 2.05 million poor people. In 2023 alone, around 55,097 Salvadorans fell into that condition, which is basically when they do not have enough income to buy food.
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