At basic entry and exit points in Oviedo, five large billboards bearing the image of Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, have appeared and sparked debate across the city. The campaign shows Bukele wearing his presidential sash and making a gesture reminiscent of a military salute. The Salvadoran government did not organize it. Instead, Tino Vidal, a 71-year-old advertising entrepreneur originally from Luarca and a longtime Oviedo resident, organized the campaign as a personal tribute.
Vidal, who has spent decades in advertising, said he knows Bukele’s speeches by heart and considers him the world’s best president. He arranged for the billboards to be placed at prominent locations around Oviedo, each displaying the phrase “Nayib Bukele. ¡Presidente Universal!” Information from Vidal, photographs of the campaign reached Bukele’s inner circle through a mutual acquaintance.
The billboards quickly became a talking point on social media and entered the local political arena. Juan Álvarez, a PSOE councillor in Oviedo, criticized the campaign online, arguing that it reflects a worrying fascination with authoritarian leadership. He warned that similar displays could become more common as the 2027 municipal elections approach. Sonsoles Peralta, Vox’s municipal spokesperson, defended Bukele’s record on public safety and accused critics of overlooking El Salvador’s history of gang violence.
Álvarez responded that Asturias has significantly lower crime rates and greater stability than El Salvador under Bukele. The debate also drew the attention of former Vox deputy Macarena Olona, who publicly invited Álvarez to attend a future conference in Oviedo on Bukele’s security model.
The arguments over the billboards reflect the sharply divided debate surrounding Bukele’s record. Salvadoran government figures cited in reporting show annual homicides falling from 6,656 in 2015 to 82 in 2025. The reported rate declined from roughly 103 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015 to about 1.3 per 100,000 in 2025. When Bukele took office in 2019, government figures put the rate at 35.8 per 100,000. After the state of exception began, reported totals fell from 496 in 2022 to 154 in 2023, then to 114 in 2024 and 82 in 2025. These figures are attributed to Salvadoran authorities, including the Fiscalía General de la República and Policía Nacional Civil.
The state of exception, introduced on 27 March 2022 after a surge in gang-related killings, is basic to Bukele’s security policy. It expanded authorities’ powers to detain people suspected of gang membership or collaboration and has been repeatedly extended. Supporters credit the crackdown on gangs including MS-13 and Barrio 18 with the decline in homicides. Rights-focused assessments, including those cited from Humanitarian Legal Aid and the Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centroamericana, have raised concerns about arbitrary detention and due-process violations. They have also cited deaths in custody and prison overcrowding. The homicide figures are government statistics, and reported criticism of changes in how homicides are defined remains part of the debate over comparisons across years.
Though the billboard campaign is not linked to official Salvadoran outreach, it has stirred local discussion about political symbolism and the influence of international figures in Spanish public life. The billboards appeared just over six months before the next municipal elections, adding to the political tension. According to municipal records, 51 Salvadoran nationals are registered as residents in Oviedo.
Political displays in public spaces have previously triggered controversy in Spain, particularly where debates over migration policy intersect with questions of security and leadership. Disputes over government property and migration policy in Ceuta have also drawn national attention, as seen in the coverage of Ayuso’s renewed scrutiny over a luxury apartment amid the Ceuta crisis. Such incidents show how local actions can become focal points for broader political arguments.
Billboards and other forms of public advertising remain a prominent way to shape debate in Spain’s cities, especially when they invoke political leadership and public identity, often through the lens of security. The Oviedo campaign shows how an individual initiative can prompt discussion well beyond the locations where the advertisements appear, particularly in the run-up to elections.
