The newly elected president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has been urged to work for peace when he takes office in June.
The 37-year-old broke the decades-long hold on power by the country's two main political parties after winning the election on Sunday.
CAFOD's head of Latin America, Clare Dixon, warned however that the former mayor still faces a tough challenge ahead to win support in the legislative assembly.
She said decades of two-party politics had left Salvadorans 'deeply polarised', with only around half of the country bothering to vote in the election.
Bukele rose to victory on the promise of stamping out corruption but Dixon said his ability to implement meaningful reforms would depend on how successful he is in persuading other political leaders to support his programme.
'The future is unpredictable but the next two years will be crucial in determining whether Salvadorans can look forward to a brighter future,' she said.
Others share her concern. The Director of Caritas El Salvador, Antonio Baños, said he feared more violence following Bukele's win.
He warned that 'uncertain times lie ahead for El Salvador and that it is possible that the endemic violence in the country could increase in the wake of this result'.
Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador and President of Caritas, said that the principal challenge for Bukele lay in overcoming murderous violence and restoring peace to the country.
He welcomed the peaceful way that Bukele's election rivals had accepted the result as he called on all sectors of the country to work together to address corruption, poverty and impunity.
'A profound renewal is needed,' he said.
