Activists and opposition leaders have that warned El Salvador is following Venezuela’s path towards dictatorship after the Central American country’s congress scrapped presidential term limits, paving the way for Nayib Bukele to seek indefinite re-election.

“Democracy in El Salvador has died,” opposition congresswoman Marcela Villatoro declared late on Thursday as the legislature – in which Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party controls 90% of seats – approved the highly controversial constitutional reform, by 57 votes to three.

Villatoro accused fellow lawmakers of dealing a “death blow” to the country’s democratic system during the late-night session. “Today some people applaud this. Tomorrow they will regret it,” she said, comparing El Salvador’s slide into authoritarianism