Hunter Baker: The price of peace

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Tuesday, February 13th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next: El Salvador’s constitutional crisis.

WORLD Opinions commentator Hunter Baker says the country’s recent vote to keep a strong leader in power is understandable, but also problematic.

HUNTER BAKER: In El Salvador, the rule has been that a president is not permitted to run for consecutive terms. But just over a week ago the millennial leader of the nation, Nayib Bukele, cruised to a landslide victory to win a second term. It is true that he used the country’s judiciary to get around the prohibition on consecutive terms. That said, it looks like he will have won another stint in office with the overwhelming support of his people.

During the Cold War, El Salvador often had the attention of the U.S. and Soviet Union as they waged a chess match for strategic advantage across the globe. Left-wing guerrillas and right-wing military groups traded power during the ’70s and ’80s. More recently, El Salvador’s peace has been threatened by extensive gang violence–the kind that makes life a waking nightmare for citizens.

So, when does a people willingly dismantle some of the limits they have placed on political leaders? They do it when peace can no longer be taken for granted and strong measures must be put in place.

When Americans think about government, too often we think about food stamps or universal pre-K programs or plans to reduce the amount of carbon fuels we burn. All of those things fly under the banner of government, but they are somewhat divorced from the essence of the institution. The distinctive quality of government is that it is the social body with a legal monopoly on the use of coercive force.

Government represents an awesome power that can be used for good or ill. Martin Luther saw it as a gift of God designed to restrain and punish those who prey upon the innocent in a world infected with sin.

El Salvador’s Bukele responded to rampant gang violence with a radical and sweeping action. He put in motion an operation to take over 70,000 gang members into custody, nearly doubling the nation’s prison population. He allowed film footage to be posted on social media showing large numbers of accused gang members herded into rows and stacked behind one another in complete submission. In the wake of Bukele’s radical action, the murder rate in the country has declined by 70 percent.

Romans 13 tells us explicitly that rulers are a terror to bad conduct and that they carry out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer as they act on his authority. A great sickness calls for a powerful remedy.

Nevertheless, neither the people of El Salvador nor we should too easily accept strong arm actions by the government without employing discernment. Leaders are human and sinful, just like the rest of us. The abuse of power can be as great a threat as lawlessness. What made Cincinnatus and his American heir George Washington great was their willingness to wield the sword and power when necessary, and then to retire from the scene when the job was done. We should pray that El Salvador is able to establish peace and keep it with a government still in check.

I’m Hunter Baker.

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