I like it. The leader of the country wanted the people to get free bus rides, so he paid the bus companies to give the people a ride... and the bus companies still required the riders to pay, double dipping.
So, that's simple theft, and he had the bus company presidents arrested.
So why does NPR hate him? https://www.npr.org/2025/05/06/nx-s1-5388197/el-salvador-president-bukele-bus-free-transport
the El Salvador Pres had announced that all bus fares for a week would be completely free due to construction the government was carrying out on one of the main highways running through San Salvador.
Seriously, road construction, GOOD. Taking care of the people who have to ride the bus? GOOD.
So that we are clear.
ReplyDeleteThe Government meses up construction in a major highway.
The mess that government made forces people to ride the bus. People that would otherwise not ride the bus.
Government forces bus companies to give people free rides (and be paid later by the government).
Bus owners refuse to go along with the government's plan.
The government places bus owners in jail.
I'm not familiar with the Salvadoran constitution (seems like they have one); but if this happened in the US it would be illegal in so many ways it is not even funny.
Forget about due process. Now presidents unilaterally decide who and what crime was committed and become judge and executioner via Tweet? Is that what we want? The president doesn't like the way you do your business and you go straight to jail!
Have you ever done business with the government? Do you have any idea of how long/if ever it would take for those bus owners to collect? Bukele wants bus owners to use their $ to finance his inefficiency. He wants these guys to pay for fuel, drivers salaries, tyres, insurance, etc, etc, etc in exchange for a promise to pay them later. The article clearly says that drivers are paid daily. If fares are not collected, whose money will be used to pay those drivers?
The article clearly states that they were not able to verify the that payments were made with bus drivers...
Why didn't the government let bus owners collect fares as usual and the the government reimburse those fares to the riders? I'll tell you why. Because those fares will never be reimbursed and pretty soon they would have millions of people protesting. It is easier to throw a few guys in jail that throw hundreds of thousands of people in jail plus you get the benefit of looking like a "benevolent" guy trying to help people when in reality he fucked up construction, messed up the whole transportation system.
Be careful what you wish for. You may get this kind of government here and you will not like it when they come for your business, rights and freedoms.
ok.,so you went off the rails. Lets start with what little NPR had to say about the highway construction " all bus fares for a week would be completely free due to construction the government was carrying out on one of the main highways running through San Salvador."
DeleteLets see what you said about the highway construction "the government messes up construction in a major highway"
Well... how did NPR miss that the govt messed up the construction? The govt DID construction, HOORAY! That's my opinion.
So, either NPR who obviously hates this guy missed the " it's the govts fault that the highway construction was messed up" when they had the chance to add that to their long complaint in their article, OR you are hating on this guy too, and making up that it's the govts fault that construction that only is going to take a week, is messing up that highway.
IF the construction ON ANY highway in California or Nevada took less than 12-18 months, to do one job... one job larger than filling a pothole, obviously, then hundreds of thousands of commuters here would be very happy.
So, one week, construction, and who didn't get the rest of the story right, you, or NPR. Since you can't even use your name, or even a made up name, to comment, and NPR has a pretty solid reputation for news accuracy, I'm guess that you're full of it, and venting the excess... and I don't need any of it.
USe your name to comment, or, quit commenting. I'm deleting everything you ever send that doesn't have your name, starting in 3, 2, 1....
NPR hates him because he's a right-wing populist.
ReplyDeleteNPR, BBC, CBC - whacko liberal radio stations!
ReplyDeleteI'd trust the guy over NPR every time.
ReplyDelete