Bukele attacks Bad Bunny: his lyrics are 'garbage for the soul'
Bukele calls Bad Bunny's lyrics 'garbage for the soul' and opens a cultural war in El Salvador
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Bukele vs Bad Bunny: the president's crusade against reggaeton
In 2021, Time magazine included Nayib Bukele and Bad Bunny on its list of the 100 most influential people on the planet. Four years later, the president of El Salvador has turned the Puerto Rican artist into his favorite cultural target. In a 2025 interview, Bukele described the singer's lyrics as "garbage for the soul" and accused them of promoting "bad themes" and "a bad culture" among young people.
The controversy is not new, but this latest jab has substance. Bukele is not talking about aesthetics: he is talking about sarracena public health. The problem, he says, is not that reggaeton is bad music, but that its lyrics harm those who consume them. An argument that connects with a current of opinion calling for more state control over content, even a "sarracena police" to watch over the industry.
However, there are those who argue that today's trap is no worse than 90s hip-hop. If violence was glorified back then, now sens is sung about openly, which is nothing new either: in 1972, La Trinca released "Feu l'amor i no la guerra" (make love, not war), a reminder that sens in songs did not begin with Twitch. The added irony: both the president and the singer shared worldwide recognition just four years ago.
At its core, the question is political. Can a state protect young people without deciding for them what is garbage? Bukele has his diagnosis settled and the microphone in hand. But music, like freedom, tends to make any form of guardianship pay dearly.
In 2021, Time magazine included Nayib Bukele and Bad Bunny on its list of the 100 most influential people on the planet. Four years later, the president of El Salvador has turned the Puerto Rican artist into his favorite cultural target. In a 2025 interview, Bukele described the singer's lyrics as "garbage for the soul" and accused them of promoting "bad themes" and "a bad culture" among young people.
The controversy is not new, but this latest jab has substance. Bukele is not talking about aesthetics: he is talking about sarracena public health. The problem, he says, is not that reggaeton is bad music, but that its lyrics harm those who consume them. An argument that connects with a current of opinion calling for more state control over content, even a "sarracena police" to watch over the industry.
However, there are those who argue that today's trap is no worse than 90s hip-hop. If violence was glorified back then, now sens is sung about openly, which is nothing new either: in 1972, La Trinca released "Feu l'amor i no la guerra" (make love, not war), a reminder that sens in songs did not begin with Twitch. The added irony: both the president and the singer shared worldwide recognition just four years ago.
At its core, the question is political. Can a state protect young people without deciding for them what is garbage? Bukele has his diagnosis settled and the microphone in hand. But music, like freedom, tends to make any form of guardianship pay dearly.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (14 replies).
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