2021 in El Salvador explained

Events in the year 2021 in El Salvador.

See also: 2021 in Central America.

Incumbents

• President: Nayib Bukele
• Vice President: Félix Ulloa

Events

Ongoing — COVID-19 pandemic in El Salvador

• 14 January – Acting United States Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen announces terrorism charges against fourteen MS-13 leaders imprisoned in El Salvador.^[1]
• 18 January – Authorities said that money sent home by migrants reached a high of USD$5.92 billion in 2020, 4.8% higher than in 2019. Such payments make up 23% of GDP, benefitting 360,000 households.^[2]
• 31 January
  • Doctors Without Borders (MSF) suspends operations after an ambulance is attacked by an armed group in Reparto Las Canas east of San Salvador.^[3]
  • Two people are killed, five are injured, and five are arrested when former members of the FMLN are attacked by security forces in San Salvador.^[4]
• 6 February – Robert Stryk and the Sonoran Policy Group continued working as a lobbyist in Washington for the Bukele government after the Bukele claimed he had annulled a $450,000 contract.^[5]
• 10 February – The opposition walks back a proposal to remove President Bukele from office weeks before the election.^[6]
• 28 February – 2021 Salvadoran legislative election: Preliminary results show Nayib Bukele ahead by a large margin.^[7]
• 8 March – 5,000 women march in San Salvador demanding decriminalization of abortion and an end to violence against women on International Women's Day.^[8]
• 29 March – President Nayib Bukele demands justice for Victoria Salazar, a Salvadoran immigrant murdered by police in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico.^[9]
• 8 June – El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to adopt the Bitcoin as official currency. "The
  1. BitcoinLaw
  has just been approved by a qualified majority" in the legislative assembly, President Nayib Bukele tweeted. "History!" The law took effect on 7 September.^{[10] [11]}

Scheduled events

Holidays

• 28 March–3 April — Holy Week^[12]
• 10 May – Mother's Day^[12]
• 17 June – Father's Day^[12]
• 4–6 August — August Festivals, including Feast of San Salvador^[12]
• 15 September – Independence Day, 200th anniversary of the Act of Independence of Central America.^[12]
• 2 November – Day of the Dead^[12]

Sports

• 29 May to 6 June – Scheduled date for the 2021 ISA World Surfing Games to take place in El Salvador.^[13]
• 5 to 19 December – Scheduled date for the 2021 Central American Games, to be hosted in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.^[14]
• TBA – 2020–21 Primera División de El Salvador

Deaths

• January 24 – Roberto Cañas López, 70, politician, guerrilla and academic, signant of Chapultepec Peace Accords.^[15]
• February 4 – Antonio Azúcar Hernández, 44, diplomat, consul in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico; COVID-19.^[16]
• March 19 – Katherine Díaz Hernández, 22, surfer; lightning strike.^[17]
• March 26 – Daniel Luna, 24, footballer (Luis Ángel Firpo), drowned.^[18]
• April 9 – Edwin E. Aguilar, 46, Salvadoran-born American animator (The Simpsons, Transformers, G.I. Joe); stroke.^[19]

Notes and References

1. News: US prosecutors: Jailed MS-13 bosses behind wave of violence . January 15, 2021 . AP NEWS . 14 January 2021.
2. News: Remittances to El Salvador rebound after early pandemic drop . January 19, 2021 . AP NEWS . 19 January 2021.
3. News: MSF suspends work in San Salvador area after ambulance attacked . January 31, 2021 . aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera English . January 31, 2021 . en.
4. News: La Jornada - Ataque a caravana del FMLN en el centro de San Salvador; hay cinco detenidos . February 2, 2021 . jornada.com.mx . AP and AFP . La Jornada . February 2, 2021 . es.
5. News: El Salvador kept paying DC lobbyist after claim he was fired . February 6, 2021 . ABC News . February 6, 2021 . en.
6. News: El Salvador opposition reverses proposal to oust president . February 19, 2021 . AP NEWS . 10 February 2021.
7. News: Bukele arrasa en comicios de El Salvador y gana mayoría en el Parlamento . March 2, 2021 . msn.com . AFP . March 1, 2021.
8. News: Movilización masiva en El Salvador en favor de despenalizar el aborto . March 8, 2021 . jornada.com.mx . La Jornada . March 8, 2021 . es.
9. News: Bukele pide justicia por muerte de ciudadana salvadoreña en Tulum, Quintana Roo . March 29, 2021 . Aristegui Noticias . March 29, 2021 . es.
10. Web site: IMF warns of risks after El Salvador adopts bitcoin . news.yahoo.com . June 10, 2021.
11. News: 6 September 2021. Fear and excitement in El Salvador as Bitcoin becomes legal tender. en-GB. BBC News. 6 September 2021.
12. Web site: National Holidays in El Salvador in 2021 . Office Holidays . January 2021 . January 15, 2021 . en.
13. Web site: ISA Announces Postponement of World Surfing Games to May 2021 . isasurf.org . es . 3 January 2021 . 27 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200927124902/https://www.isasurf.org/isa-announces-postponement-of-world-surfing-games-to-may-2021/ . dead .
14. Web site: Santa Tecla será la sede de los Juegos Centroamericanos 2021 . laprensagrafica.com . es . 3 January 2021 .
15. https://diario.elmundo.sv/fallece-roberto-canas-firmante-de-los-acuerdos-de-paz-y-destacado-academico/ Fallece Roberto Cañas, firmante de los Acuerdos de Paz y destacado académico
16. News: Henríquez . Elio . Muere por Covid-19 cónsul de El Salvador en Tapachula . February 5, 2021 . jornada.com.mx . La Jornada . February 4, 2021 . es.
17. News: Top Salvadoran surfer Katherine Díaz Hernández is killed by lightning . March 23, 2021 . NBC News . AP . March 22, 2021 . en.
18. https://us.as.com/us/2021/03/27/futbol/1616854981_029261.html Fallece el futbolista salvadoreño Daniel Luna tras ahogarse en un río
19. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/edwin-aguilar-animator-and-assistant-director-on-the-simpsons-dies-at-46 Edwin Aguilar, Animator and Assistant Director on 'The Simpsons,' Dies at 46