President Nayib Bukele has reaffirmed his commitment to transforming El Salvador’s public education system, which suffered from decades of neglect between 1989 and 2019 under previous ARENA and FMLN administrations.
As part of this effort, a $75 million loan granted by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) to finance the “Sectoral Program to Support the Comprehensive Strengthening of Education in El Salvador” was officially sanctioned by President Bukele and became effective after being published in the Diario Oficial on June 19.
The Legislative Assembly had authorized the Executive Branch to sign the loan agreement on June 10, followed by ratification during a plenary session on June 19. The ruling party, Nuevas Ideas, led the initiative with its 54 votes in favor.
According to the published law, the funds will allow the government to “strengthen the education sector comprehensively through innovation and quality improvements, while closing structural, technological, territorial, infrastructure, and capacity gaps through strategic interventions.”
Christian Guevara, head of the Nuevas Ideas legislative bloc, highlighted the government’s continued focus on education. “[The funds aim to] promote actions centered on improving education quality and closing long-standing structural, technological, and infrastructure gaps in this country,” Guevara said.
Under Bukele’s leadership, public education is undergoing notable improvements, including initiatives like the Dos Escuelas por Día program launched on May 22, which aims to renovate state-run schools across the country.