As an aside, I find it incredibly amusing that the China-funded library is decorated with rather Western culture - Harry Potter, Star Wars, and even Mario. Even Chinese money is used to uphold American cultural hegemony.
It makes me think of German barbarians who, after sacking the urbs aeterna, couldn't think of a better name for themselves than Holy Roman Empire.
Cool Japan would like a word with you ;)
From a hegemonic view, I don't. The "mass marketed corporate manufactured culture" ensures that the West retains an avenue for soft power in the country. As long as they watch american tv, play american games, and read american stories, the country is subtly primed to be more palatable to American view points.
It might not matter now, as Bukele has demonized Western influence; but as shown in Asia, Pokemon and Mario were massively effective in cleaning up Japan's image in the eyes of Korean youth. Both China and Korea were brutally colonized by Japan, but cultural influence has inverted the favorability of China and Japan in Korea. I don't see how repeating that mistake favors China interests.
[1] In fact, according to a survey published by news magazine SisaIN, China’s favorability among South Koreans reached a high-water mark in 2016 at a score of 60 out of 100—second only to the United States (73) and higher than Japan (43) and North Korea (28).6 However, by 2021, China’s score had fallen by half to 26.4
[2] I don't deny COVID could be a factor here.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/rising-anti-china-s....
I know where these characters originated from, and their global presence is distributed by American cultural hegemony. Trying to one-up me by denying the American influence and amplification of these franchises is senseless