Steven Rodríguez traveled more than 40 miles from his home in Santa Ana, in western El Salvador, to attend the Pride march in the capital on June 28. It is the second time he has attended. There, some 20,000 people gathered in a mix of celebration and protest for the rights of sexual diversity. But this year, joy was replaced by fear. “Maybe it won't escalate, but there is a fear that what happened to the El Bosque cooperative will happen. But, from deep down I believe that, as people, we have the right to a dignified life. If it's not me, who else is going to defend my experiences,” says Rodríguez about his decision to attend in the midst of the authoritarian escalation that the country is experiencing. When Nayib Bukele assumed power in 2019, one of his first actions was to eliminate the Directorate of Sexual Diversity. In February 2024, during his participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US, he made his position clear: “We do not allow those ideologies in schools and colleges. I think it is also important that the curriculum does not include gender ideology and such things.” Natalia Alberto Rodríguez's main fear is that the march will serve as an excuse to criminalize its attendees. Earlier this year, on May 12, a hundred members of the El Bosque cooperative held a peaceful protest to avoid being evicted. This was repressed by the military police and ended with the arrest of community leader José Ángel Pérez and lawyer Alejandro Henríquez for public disorder. Both are serving provisional detention in a penal center. In the past four months, at least six human rights defenders have been arrested in the country for political reasons. On the afternoon of June 28, the march ended peacefully and, at least on the ground, no arrests were recorded. Training Day Rodríguez is part of a collective called Pedrina, which focuses on community articulation for LGBTIQ+ rights in the West. His approach to digital security began when members of the organization started receiving insults, threats, and hate messages on social networks.