Supreme Court in El Salvador Condemns President Bukele’s Unconstitutional Actions

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Last Sunday, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, ordered soldiers and police to seize the Congress building in the capital in order to secure US$109 million (R$436 million) to finance his security policy.

The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber has now decided to accept an appeal against the extraordinary convening of Congress, thereby determining its unconstitutionality. It further issued security measures and banned the president from continuing to use the military for “unconstitutional purposes”.

The Government then declared that, although it did not agree with the decision, it would abide by it until a final ruling. It called on the Chamber to “consider the interest of the Republic”, explicitly referring to security in the country. The charge of interference in the work of another governmental branch was denied. It was not the aim of Sunday’s session to force an approval, it said.

Non-governmental organizations reacted with concern to the weekend’s events. Thirty groups from various sectors of society united and called for “the defense of democracy and the maintenance of social balance”. They called on the executive to respect the separation of powers and to comply with the Constitutional Chamber’s decision.

For the whole country, the “Black Sunday” or “day 9F” brings back memories of the past. The NGOs stressed that it was a sad day for El Salvador. They voiced their hope that the situation will not be repeated, as the country has come a long way towards achieving today’s democracy.

Eduardo Escobar, president of the civil association ‘Acción Ciudadana’, said that since the signing of the peace agreement in 1992, conflicts and social conflicts have been solved by institutional means. The president’s actions have served to intimidate the political forces and to circumvent the established institutional procedures through the use of force.

Congress is still working on a plan to prevent such an event from recurring. The establishment of a special committee, the interrogation of ministers or a general restraint in order to avoid further confrontations are under discussion. The drafting of the plan is proving difficult, as many of the decisions and procedures that led to the occupation of Congress are still unclear or undocumented.