El Salvador: in one year Nayib Bukele copied the three powers | On his Twitter account, he defined himself as “the coolest dictator in the world”.

So far this year, Nayib Bukele has taken a series of measures that have alarmed Salvadoran social organizations and sparked a massive protest last week. Since the reform of the judicial career which would imply the automatic expulsion of a third of the nearly 700 judges throughout the country and the dismissal of judges to impose magistrates linked to the president, up to the decision not to move forward on bills that could mean expanding the rights of women and the LGBTIQ community in this Central American country, the advance on the institutions of the Salvadoran president does not seem to have limits.

Salvadoran bicentenary

The year of the bicentennial of the independence of Central America had among its first marks the triumph of the party of Bukele, New ideas, which won a majority in the Legislative Assembly. The first congressional motion with a ruling majority resolved the dismissal of five judges of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice who have been replaced by magistrates close to the president.

For Saúl Baños, Executive Director of the Foundation for Law Enforcement Studies (FESPAD), the advance against the democratic model began in 2020 when Bukele sought approval for a loan of $ 109 million to equip the security forces. “What happened on February 9, 2020 when the President of the Republic and members of the army and the police stormed the legislative building. One hit attempt practically and there was no penalty “Banos told Page 12.

In 2021, with the electoral triumph of the New Ideas party, the president has again moved forward. “During the first plenary session, an unusual Saturday, we were surprised by the whole population since, with the exemption from treatment, the first motion was the dismissal of the patrimonial magistrates and deputies of the Constitutional Chamber. They were unconstitutionally removed from their posts and appointed substitutes “explained the expert. The next step was the removal of the Attorney General and the immediate appointment of a replacement. “With this action, he took a good deal of power and with that he disrupted the Republican regime,” he said.

Concentration of powers

“They have the executive and the legislative assembly, which was the result of an election but which ended up co-opting the constitutional chamber.», Declared Baños, who also referred to the decisions taken by the congress. “They are backing down from the little progress that has been made. For example, they approved the Alabi Law, which protects against impunity so as not to investigate 2020 state purchases. These are decisions that prevent citizens from asking and knowing how public funds are being managed. . The bitcoin law (the first country in the world to formalize a crypto-currency) was approved without consultation, without legislative discussion, in the early morning, ”he recalled. While the new magistrates gave the green light to Bukele so that he could run for a new term in 2024, despite the fact that the Salvadoran constitution expressly prohibits successive presidential re-elections.

“Two terms had to elapse (10 years), but with this court decision imposed, it allows the president to be reelected. There are two years left before the end of this administration, but the chamber has already authorized the president to be reelected, ignoring constitutional case law, ”Baños said.

Reform of the judicial career

Another decision that worries social organizations has been the reform of judicial career law, which according to Baños It was also introduced with exemption from treatment and without deliberation. Last week, Bukele, 40, enacted the law that retires a third of judges and similar regulations for prosecutors. The bill was approved by Congress – with a pro-government majority – on August 31.

“It is established that by this reform all judges who are 60 years or more or who have completed 30 years of service must be replaced”he explained. Among the judges who will have to leave their functions as of September 25, the date on which the reform will come into force, is Judge Jorge Guzmán who is investigating the El Mozote massacre in 1981. In 2020, Guzmán asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate and determine whether Bukele committed a crime by blocking forensic inspections of military files. In the documents, the judge sought information about the military operation that led to the notorious massacre.

“Reforming the law of the judicial career in this way does not aim to carry out a purification process. Because only judges who are 60 years old, judges with enormous experience leave. The purposes are different “Banos said. The New Ideas deputies had promoted the reform, ensuring that the measure aims to purge the judicial system and fight against corruption. But the alleged corrupt practices are not mentioned in the text.

“Corruption is an argument that serves them. But there is a mechanism to do it, due process. Here, what the Constitution establishes has not been respected. Different organizations like the one I represent have proposed the necessary cleansing of the justice system, both high courts and trial judges, but the rules must continue to be respected to empower the process. “, Baños said.

Setback in rights

On the other hand, the Salvadoran president decided to eliminate the inclusion of the legalization of abortion, equal marriage and euthanasia from his government’s constitutional reform project. “I have decided, so that there is no doubt, not to propose any type of reform to any article having to do with the right to life (from the moment of conception), with marriage (in keeping only the original drawing, a man and woman), or with euthanasia“, wrote the president on his social networks.

The Central American country has one of the most restrictive laws since it completely prohibits the termination of pregnancy even in cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the woman. In this direction, Morena Herrara, from the Feminist Collective for Local Development and the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion, Therapeutics, Ethics and Eugenics, rejected the decision of the Salvadoran president. “We regret the position the president has expressed as he denies women’s rights and fails to warn of the consequences of draconian legislation and public policies that condemn girls and women.”, he said during a dialogue with Page 12. “We have a vision that things are not closed, that This government is acting out of political convenience, for the image in the media and on social networks. We continue to defend their responsibility to ensure the health and lives of women, girls and adolescent girls, as well as the rights of those who identify with gender dissidents, ”he added.

For Herrera, it is fundamental, on the one hand, to keep the demands alive and to increase social pressure and, on the other hand, the need for them to listen to the international community. In this sense, he explained that there are currently two trials in the inter-American human rights system, one is that of a peasant woman named Manuela, sentenced to 30 years in prison for having an abortion. The judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in this case will be known in the coming months. The other case is known as the Beatriz vs. El Salvador.

“In Manuela’s case, it focuses on the violation of rights through the criminalization of women living in poverty who have been charged with abortion and later convicted of aggravated homicide.. It is a process that is linked to the context of the absolute criminalization of abortion, but it is not specific to abortion. In Beatriz’s case, this is a specific abortion claim and here we believe that the binding nature of court judgments will play a role in El Salvador’s policies and legislation. “said Herrera, who also called for the need to restore democratic institutions and the separation of powers.

“We see difficult prospects in El Salvador, but this is the reality in which we live and in which we must build alternatives. It is not the first time that spaces have been closed and we consider that we have no other means than to continue to fight, to influence and to transform reality, to convince the population of the importance of these rights ”.

Demonstration

September 15 between 5,000 and 8,000 protesters took to the streets of San Salvador to try to end abuse of power in the first massive protest of Bukele’s tenure. “Beyond the number of people,” wrote the correspondent of The country from Spain. “Bukele was defeated in two scenarios in which he had no rivals so far: the street and the networks. The call became a trend of the day before and ended in silence after several months of controversial reforms that sparked rejection inside and outside the country. ; of the United States, who compared him to Hugo Chávez, to United Nations, which called for respect for judicial independence. “

Bukele’s response was immediate. You first changed your account description from Twitter, defining himself as “dictator of El Salvador” and a few hours later he raised the stakes: he was renamed “The coolest dictator in the world”.