This article is about Nayib Bukele’s presidency in El Salvador, and to what extent it is a case of populism, and if it has contributedto a negative democratic development between 2019–2021. By using the concepts of democratic backsliding, autocratization,and populism, three main conclusions are made. First, actions taken by Bukele during his presidency has directly contributedto a negative democratic development. Second, both during the electoral campaign and in office, there are also signs ofpopulism, such as anti-pluralism, hijacking the state, mass clientelism, and a feeling of a less democratic civil society and freemedia. Consequently, Bukele has pushed the country into a process of autocratization, where the future destiny toward lessdemocracy is still uncertain.