The president’s party will have a qualified majority, 56 of the 84 delegates, which will allow them to suspend constitutional guarantees without the support of other parties. With a majority in Congress, some analysts fear the Buke government will become a dictatorship.
“It is true that they have won power in democratic elections. Having more power is not an issue. The problem is how this power is used. In other words, if you build consensus, dialogue, opposition and build for the country despite the majority, it is not bad, but I am afraid it will not happen. In one and a half years this year What we saw was dictatorship ”, Says Arnav Boulanas, a lawyer for the Human Rights Institute at the Central American University (ITHUCA).
The ruling party does not need political opposition to approve loans for new ideas, and Boukel repeatedly complained against the current legislature, accusing him of blocking his government plans. In February 2020, Buckley and the Armed Forces invaded the Blue Room, the meeting place of the delegation, as the delegates refused to finance the defense program. Now, being in your party means you no longer have that problem There are no voices to criticize their results.
With a legislative majority, Buckell could also promote controversial laws such as the nationalization of the pension system or reforms in the currency consolidation law to change the dollarization. The election results have left traditional parties in a politically irrelevant position.
Ronaldo Cardoza, vice president of the National Reconciliation Party (PCN), a party that won only two seats, agrees, “I will not cast my vote for anything that does not benefit the people of Salvador. This opportunity is for the government, whether we vote or not.”
Buckley took over the government in June 2019, one and a half years later, he is already in control of the legislature. And President in the coming months Can extend its control over the judicial element Because his party’s representatives must elect the new Attorney General of the Republic and five new judges of the Supreme Court.
Paulnas fears that the election of new officers will be political, regardless of the ability and relevance of who will be appointed. “I’m afraid new ideas are going to do this. Someone is going to put someone like that in. This time it will be just as bad as Arena and FMLN did,” he says.
Fear of dictatorship
The Buckley government is characterized by facing the legislature Use of the Armed Forces for political purposes and for non-compliance with the penalties of the Constitution Room. Now that the majority of delegates have won, civil society organizations fear that the president wants to control the judiciary. Allow re-election in 2024, Something that the Constitution prohibits.
“What I fear is that now the legislature will simply be the executor of the president’s wishes and decisions, and the power of the state will be misrepresented. This worries me because we can still take a dictatorial slip,” says Paulnas.
“What scares me the most is re-election and dismissal of officials,” says Eduardo Escobar, managing director of Axion Ciudadana. A possible scenario, Escobar says, is that the new attorney will respond to the interests of the government, and this power will be used to remove the constitutional chamber.
“The president and his political orbit are saying that the judges are committing crimes and they can use the power of attorney general to the fullest to seek a preliminary verdict against them in the legislature.
A possible change in the constitutional chamber would open the doors, for example, to allow the president to be re-elected. “Let’s see what happened in Nicaragua and Honduras. Daniel Ortega and Juan Orlando Hernandez filed Ambro cases against the Constitution and were allowed to run for re-election. They sound surreal footage, but they have already done so. I think there will be an attempt for re-election. ”
Congressman Cardosa fears political persecution against opponents. “I’m a little worried about the attitude of some of the officers who already have this majority. I do not think they are empowered to do what they want. If I do not like someone, I would like to put up a trailer for that reason, it would not be right. You have to be reconciled, feel good.”
There will be a decent majority for new ideas, which is enough to dismiss officials. “Everything is possible, because they have only 56 votes, which is worrying, and there may be some kind of reconsideration. There is time, and that is why judges are elected every three years.
