The Legislative Assembly passed a historic ban on all metal mining, driven by years of community resistance, particularly against OceanaGold's El Dorado gold-silver project. Dozens of water and land defenders were killed or threatened during the campaign.

El Salvador's national water authority ANDA serves less than 60% of the population with reliable piped water. Rural and peri-urban communities — disproportionately poor and Indigenous — rely on contaminated wells and irregular trucked water. The water law debate stalled for over a decade.

Nayib Bukele's legislative supermajority removed five Constitutional Chamber justices and the attorney general in a single night, replacing them with loyalists. The move was condemned by the U.S., EU, and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It opened the path to lifting Bukele's reelection ban and weakening environmental oversight.

El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. The government announced a geothermal Bitcoin mining operation at Volcán de Santa Ana. While geothermal is renewable, the policy diverted public energy infrastructure to speculative crypto mining rather than expanding household electricity access — 12% of Salvadorans lack grid power.

Following gang violence, Bukele declared a state of exception suspending due process rights. Over 75,000 people were arrested within 18 months. Human rights organizations documented cases of rural community leaders and environmental activists detained without charges under the emergency powers. The state of exception was extended repeatedly through 2024.

Prolonged canículas (dry spells) and erratic rainfall in El Salvador's dry corridor devastated subsistence farming communities. FAO and WFP reported over 300,000 people facing acute food insecurity. Maize and bean harvests collapsed in departments including Cabañas, Cuscatlán, and La Paz — areas where smallholder farmers have no irrigation access.

After 20 years of debate, El Salvador passed a National Water Law establishing water as a human right and creating a regulatory authority (ASONAGUA). The law prohibits water privatization — a key demand of civil society. Implementation and enforcement, however, remain lagging, with indigenous and rural communities still outside the formal water system.

Nayib Bukele won re-election with over 84% of the vote, consolidating executive control. International observers noted restrictions on opposition and press freedom. Environmental NGOs operating in the country report increased self-censorship and barriers to organizing, particularly in communities near proposed infrastructure projects.

El Salvador has less than 3% of its original forest cover remaining — among the lowest in the hemisphere. The Ministry of Environment (MARN) reported continued illegal logging and agricultural encroachment into remaining forest fragments. Mangrove ecosystems, critical for coastal protection and fisheries, remain under threat from shrimp farming and port expansion.