2020 Salvadoran political crisis

The 2020 Salvadoran political crisis was a brief occurrence on February 9, 2020, where Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered 1,400 Salvadoran soldiers from the Salvadoran Army to enter the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador while seeking a loan request of 109 million dollars from the United States for Bukele's security plan for El Salvador.[3]

2020 Salvadoran political crisis
DateFebruary 9, 2020
Location
El Salvador
GoalsPressure politicians to approve a 109 million dollar loan for a security plan[1]
MethodsTroop entry into the Legislative Assembly, political intimidation
Resulted inDemonstrations, Supreme Court order to desist
Parties to the civil conflict
Lead figures
Nayib Bukele Mario Ponce
El Salvador
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Background

Prior to the crisis, President Nayib Bukele wanted a loan of 109 million dollars from the United States in order to improve the National Civil Police of El Salvador and the Armed Forces of El Salvador for his "Territorial Control Plan."[4] On February 7, Bukele, under the protection of numeral 7 of article 167 of the Constitution of El Salvador, called on the Council of Ministers to convene in the Legislative Assembly.[5]

On February 8, President Bukele again made use of the Constitution by invoking the use of article 87, which authorizes a popular insurrection in case of breaking the constitutional order. Evidently, it was not broken.[6]

On February 9, Bukele entered into the Blue Room, accompanied by military personnel, and sat in the chair of Assembly President Mario Ponce. The next day, the Supreme Court of El Salvador prohibited the President from calling the Legislative Assembly, also prohibited all public forces, including the Ministry of Defense, from exercising functions other than those allowed by the Constitution. Bukele expressed dissatisfaction with the order and stated that "the system protects itself", but abided by the Supreme Court's order.

Reactions

Small demonstrations against Bukele were reported, mainly grouped at the University of El Salvador (UES) in San Salvador.[7] Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch described the actions of the President as "dangerous" and "serious," respectively.

Despite public mobilization during the event in support of the loan request and in protest of the Legislative Assembly's abstinence, both the ARENA and FMLN parties accused the use of troops in the Blue Room as a self-coup.[8] Bukele denied the claims of a self-coup stating that "if I was a dictator, I would have taken control of everything."[9] The FMLN accused that several of its parliamentarians were harassed by the government.[10] The FMLN also stated it will ask for an appeal against Francis Merino (Minister of Defense) and Rogelio Rivas (Justice and Security of the Public) for their participation in the crisis on February 9.[11]

On February 24, Monsignor José Luis Escobar Alas, President of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador and the Archbishop of San Salvador, asked people to "lower the tone of mutual attacks, or one for the other, because in this way we cannot move forward, because in the end the one that is affected is the people to avoid a new conflict," in reference to the Salvadoran Civil War.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Constitutional crisis in El Salvador over Bukele's security plan". February 10, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  2. Luis Eliezer Garcia. "Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de El Salvador » Autoridades » Titulares". Rree.gob.sv. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  3. "Crisis en El Salvador: cuáles son los motivos de la fuerte tensión entre el presidente Nayib Bukele y el Congreso". February 10, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  4. "Assembly Standoff Leads to Crisis in El Salvador". February 11, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  5. "¿Por qué El Salvador se encuentra ante el precipicio?". February 14, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. "El Salvador: Bukele amenaza a diputados para conseguir préstamo". February 8, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  7. "Débiles protestas contra la actuación de Bukele en el Congreso salvadoreño". February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  8. "Corte Suprema de Justicia de El Salvador prohíbe al presidente convocar al Parlamento". February 15, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  9. "El Salvador parliament denounces president's 'attempted coup'". February 11, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  10. "FMLN recopila denuncias por persecución contra diputados". February 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  11. "FMLN pide interpelar a Rivas y Merino, Arena aún evalúa". February 14, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  12. "La Iglesia llama a "bajar el tono" ante la crisis política en El Salvador para evitar un nuevo conflicto". February 24, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
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