On Saturday, El Salvador’s lawmakers voted to oust the magistrates of the Supreme Court’s constitutional chamber and the attorney general. In fact, the move came on the newly-elected legislature’s first day in power, after President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party won 56 out of 84 seats in February’s Legislative Assembly elections. The motion to restructure the make-up of the court was approved by 64 lawmakers, with 19 voting against, and one abstaining. With a majority in congress and the removal of legislative checks and balances, Bukele has now effectively cemented his control over the Salvadoran government.
As expected, the decision was denounced by conservative opposition party National Republican Alliance (ARENA), which said, “This is an outrage against the Republic and democracy.” Likewise, ARENA President Erick Salguero said that Bukele’s latest move was indicative of his “search for complete power.”
A group of 25 local civil society organisations also came together to condemn what they described as a “coup d'état endorsed by President Bukele.”
Bukele, however, said that the removal of the magistrates represents the will of the people, tweeting, “And the people of El Salvador, through their representatives, said: DISMISSED!” Another official from the New Ideas party, Elisa Rosales, said that the decision was taken because the judges had undermined the government’s COVID-19 public health strategy.
The leader’s latest decision drew the concern of Washington, and United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the Salvadoran leader on Sunday. State Department spokesperson Ned Price noted in his statement: “Secretary Blinken expressed the U.S. government’s grave concern over the Legislative Assembly’s vote to remove all five magistrates of El Salvador’s constitutional Chamber, noting that an independent judiciary is essential to democratic governance. He expressed equal concern regarding the removal of Attorney General Raul Melara, who is fighting corruption and impunity and is an effective partner of efforts to combat crime in both the United States and El Salvador.” Blinken went onto stress Washington’s interest in maintaining democratic institutions and the separation of powers, which he said “relies on the rule of law.”
Blinken tweeted following the meeting that “democratic governance requires respecting the separation of powers.”
The Secretary’s concerns were echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris, who expressed her “deep concerns about El Salvador’s democracy.”
Likewise, the US’ Acting Assistant Secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Julie Chung, tweeted, “An independent judiciary is the foundation of any democracy; no democracy can live without it.” She added, that strong bilateral ties are contingent on El Salvador “supporting the separation of powers and upholding democratic norms.
Spoke today with Salvadoran President @NayibBukele to express serious concerns about yesterday’s move to undermine El Salvador’s highest court and Attorney General Melara. Democratic governance requires respecting the separation of powers, for the good of all Salvadorans.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 2, 2021
We have deep concerns about El Salvador’s democracy, in light of the National Assembly’s vote to remove constitutional court judges. An independent judiciary is critical to a healthy democracy – and to a strong economy.
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 3, 2021
A strong U.S.-El Salvador relationship will depend on the Government of El Salvador supporting the separation of powers and upholding democratic norms.
— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) May 2, 2021
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Furthermore, the Organisation of American States (OAS) released a statement saying that it “rejects” the decision of the Salvadoran congress, opining that it paves the way for “impunity and political persecution. It wrote: “In democracy, majorities have the responsibility of being fundamental guarantors to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; access to power and its exercise subject to the rule of law; the plural regime of political parties and organizations; and the separation and independence of public powers. When majorities impose a single, uniform vision for the rest of the political system, they are undermining these principles. When the majorities eliminate the systems of checks and balances in the institutional framework, they are altering the essence of its functioning.”
Along these same lines, United Nations special rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Diego García-Sayán tweeted, “I condemn the steps that the political power has been taking to dismantle and weaken the judicial independence of the magistrates by dismissing members of the Constitutional Chamber.”
Bukele, however, appears unperturbed by foreign criticism, saying, “With all due respect: We’re cleaning our house ...and that is none of your business.”
The Salvadoran president has frequently come under fire for undermining democratic institutions after coming into power in June 2019 and breaking the monopoly of ARENA and the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FLMN), who controlled the country for over three decades.
For example, last February, he ordered the armed forces to storm the Congressional building in order to pressure lawmakers to approve a $109 million loan to the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. This led to arguments that Bukele had blurred the line between the civilian government and the military.
He has also been criticized for his heavy-handed approach to tackling crime in the country, with many saying that it hasn’t worked. For instance, last April, he authorised the country’s police and military to use lethal force against gang members after over 53 gang-related murders. And in February of this year, Doctors Without Borders temporarily suspended its operations in an area of El Salvador’s capital city, San Salvador, after one of its ambulances was attacked by armed assailants. Journalists, too, have “faced threats and harassment.”
Bukele enjoyed the support of the Trump administration for his decision to sign on to the Asylum Cooperative Agreement along with Guatemala and Honduras. However, the Biden administration has now suspended the accords and grown increasingly critical of Bukele. In February, the Biden administration reportedly rejected Bukele’s request to meet with him when he travelled to Washington on an unannounced trip. In retaliation, Bukele refused to meet with a senior US diplomat who visited El Salvador last month.
The latest decision by the Bukele administration has therefore further ignited tensions not only within El Salvador but across the Americas at large.