El Salvador: Cable companies to be fined for allegedly blocking Bukele’s speech

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – El Salvador will fine two telephone, cable, and internet companies for allegedly blocking and cutting the radio and television broadcast of President Nayib Bukele on Tuesday night, during his speech on the occasion of his two years in office.

Bukele published on his Twitter that Tigo and Claro El Salvador “blocked” the channel. According to the president, it “is a clear sign of the ideological apparatus trying to control the State”.

“That @TigoElSalvador and @claroelsalvador have blocked the national network in many of its platforms is not only a violation of the Telecommunications Law and a lousy service to its customers, it is also a clear sign of the ideological apparatus trying to control the state,” he wrote.

The president also noted that “many users report that they were cut off from the internet during the broadcast,” so “@TigoElSalvador and @claroelsalvador will be fined and must refund the money they charged for a service they did not provide.”

Bukele did not specifythe amount of the fine to be imposed on both companies.

The Salvadoran president promised Tuesday night in a speech to the nation, as part of his second year in office, that he will not allow the country to go back to the system that generated crime, corruption, and poverty as long as “God gives me strength”.

“We will never again go back to the system that for two centuries plunged us into crime, corruption, inequality, and poverty, never again. Do not have any illusions, as long as God gives me strength, I will not allow it”, said Bukele in his speech before the Legislative Assembly, which was broadcast on national radio and television.

The president, who assured listeners that El Salvador has entered a “new stage” and that it must overcome the “ideological apparatus” of former governments, did not go into details or explain if this implies seeking reelection.

This was the first time that the President appeared before Congress to render accounts on his administration. Still, in his speech, he limited himself to criticizing his adversaries, including the international community. He was terse in mentioning the actions that his government has implemented in two years of administration.