2021 Salvadoran political crisis
Deputies applauding the removal the Supreme Court judges.
Date1 May 2021 (2021-05-01)
Location
El Salvador
Caused byNuevas Ideas victory in the 2021 legislative election
Resulted in
  • Removal of five judges from the Supreme Court's Constitutional Court
  • Removal of the Attorney General
Parties

Government:

Supreme Court

Opposition:
Lead figures

A political crisis in El Salvador occurred on 1 May 2021 when the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador voted to remove several judges from the Supreme Court and remove the Attorney General of El Salvador, both of which had been vocal opponents to the presidency of Nayib Bukele. The event has been referred to as a self-coup by the opposition and by news media outlets due to the action itself but also because of the 2020 Salvadoran political crisis in the year prior, where Bukele ordered soldiers into the Legislative Assembly, which has also been characterized as a self-coup.

Background

On 9 February 2020, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered forty soldiers to enter the Legislative Assembly to pressure its deputies to vote in favor of requesting a $109 million dollar loan from the United States in order to support his Territorial Control Plan, a law enforcement measure against crime in El Salvador.[1][2][3] He sat in the chair of Mario Ponce, the President of the Legislative Assembly, and after a few minutes, exited the Legislative Assembly and informed a crowd of supporters: "We're going to give these scoundrels a week and if they haven't approved the plan by then, we convene them again," in reference to the politicians he needed to approve the loan request.[3][4][5]

Small protests against Bukele formed following the incident, known in El Salvador as 9-F, however, many more Salvadorans spoke out on social media in support of Bukele.[4][6] Lawmakers and the political opposition condemned Bukele's action as an attempted coup d'état.[4][7][8] The Supreme Court of El Salvador also condemned his action and prohibited him from calling the Legislative Assembly and prohibited the Ministry of Defense to carry out any actions not allowed by the Constitution.[5][9] The incident was cited as a case of democratic backsliding in El Salvador.[10][11][12]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in El Salvador, Bukele had ordered the National Civil Police to arrest people for violating lockdown orders.[13] The Constitutional Court, a part of the Supreme Court, ruled that arresting citizens for violating lockdown orders was illegal, however, Bukele openly rejected and ignored the court ruling.[13] On 8 November 2020, Raúl Melara, the Attorney General of El Salvador, opened investigations into twenty of Bukele's government institutions for corruption.[14][15]

Crisis

On 28 February 2021, the 2021 Salvadoran legislative election resulted in a victory for Nuevas Ideas, Bukele's political party, which won 56 of the Legislative Assembly's 84 seats.[16] The new session of the Legislative Assembly began on 1 May 2021.[17] Ponce's term as President of the Legislative Assembly ended with the new session of the legislature, and the new session voted in Ernesto Castro as the new President of the Legislative Assembly with a margin of 64 votes in favor and 20 abstentions.[18][19][lower-alpha 1]

Following the vote of Castro, the Legislative Assembly then voted to remove all five judges of the Supreme Court's Constitutional Court which had opposed Bukele in the past, citing that they had previously "issued arbitrary decisions."[15][20] The vote ended with 64 in favor, 19 in opposition, and 1 abstention.[21] Elisa Rosales, a leader of Nuevas Ideas, stated that there was "clear evidence" that the judges had impeded government conduct and that they had to be removed to protect the public.[20] Immediately after the vote, the five judges ruled the vote unconstitutional, but the judges were removed anyway.[13][20] The judges who were removed were Óscar Armando Pineda Navas, the President of the Supreme Court, Aldo Enrique Cáder, Carlos Sergio Avilés, Carlos Ernesto Sánchez, and Marina de Jesús Marenco.[22]

Later that same day, the Legislative Assembly also voted to remove Melara as Attorney General, and he later presented his resignation.[13][15][20] Rodolfo Delgado replaced Melara as attorney general on 2 May 2021.[23][24][25] Five new judges were appointed on 3 May 2021, all of whom were supporters of Bukele.[13][17] The new judges were Óscar Alberto López Jerez, who replaced Pineda Navas as President of the Supreme Court, Luis Javier Suárez Magaña, Héctor Nahúm García, José Ángel Pérez Chacón, and Elsy Dueñas Lovos,[22][26] and they were each given armed guards as personal bodyguards.[17]

Aftermath and domestic reactions

The voting out of the judges and the Attorney General has been labeled as a coup, a self-coup, a powerplay, and a power grab by several news outlets and the political opposition of El Salvador as it gave Bukele and Nuevas Ideas increased political power.[17][20][27][28][29] It has also been labeled as a "threat to democracy."[30]

René Portillo Cuadra, a lawmaker of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), stated, "What happened last night in the Legislative Assembly, with a majority that the people gave them through the vote, is a coup."[20] Many of Bukele's supporters and followers, the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and the National Civil Police supported the actions of the Legislative Assembly.[15][17]

International reactions

Countries
International organizations
Other

Several human rights groups have condemned the action and accused Bukele of allowing the political crisis to happen.[15][20][37] Juan Pappier, the Senior Americas researcher of Human Rights Watch, stated that Bukele had "dismantle[d] all the internal checks and balances on his power."[28] The José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA) stated: "In this dark hour for our already weak democracy, the UCA calls for the defense of what was built after the war at the cost of so much effort and so many lives: a society where saying 'no' to power is not a fantasy."[21]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Brigida, Anna-Cat (10 February 2020). "Constitutional crisis in El Salvador over Bukele's security plan". AlJazeera. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Crisis en El Salvador: Cuáles son los Motivos de la Fuerte Tensión entre el Presidente Nayib Bukele y el Congreso" [Crisis in El Salvador: What are the Motives of the Strong Tension between President Nayib Bukele and Congress]. BBC News (in Spanish). 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 Dolzall, Tom (11 February 2020). "Assembly Standoff Leads to Crisis in El Salvador". Defense & Security Monitor. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "El Salvador Parliament Denounces President's 'Attempted Coup'". BBC News. 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 Vivanco, José Miguel (14 February 2020). "President Bukele, Brute Force Is Not the Way Forward for El Salvador". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. ↑ "Débiles Protestas contra la Actuación de Bukele en el Congreso Salvadoreño" [Weak Protests Against Bukele's Action in the Salvadoran Congress]. Agencia EFE (in Spanish). 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  7. ↑ "El Salvador: Oposición Señala de "Irresponsable" a Bukele y Denuncia "autogolpe"" [El Salvador: Opposition Signals Bukele "Irresponsible" and Denounces "Self-Coup"]. DW (in Spanish). 9 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  8. ↑ García, Jacobo (10 February 2020). "Si Fuera un Dictador Habría Tomado el Control de Todo el Gobierno Anoche" [If I was a dictator, I would have taken control of everything]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "EE. UU. Considera "Inaceptable" Ingreso de Tropas al Congreso de El Salvador" [US Considers Entry of Troops to the Congress of El Salvador "Unacceptable"]. DW (in Spanish). 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Renteria, Nelson (10 February 2020). "El Salvador President's Power Play Stokes Democracy Concerns". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Freedom in the World 2021 – El Salvador". Freedom House. 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  12. ↑ Navia, Patricio, and Perelló, Lucas (1 March 2021). "It's Not Just El Salvador. Democracies Are Weakening Across Central America". Americas Quarterly. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pozzebon, Stefano (5 May 2021). "What to Know About the Political Drama Raising Fears over El Salvador's Democracy". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Fiscalía Arranca Investigación Contra el Gobierno Bukele por los Contratos Irregulares de la Pandemia" [Prosecutor Starts Investigation Against the Bukele Government for the Irregular Contracts of the Pandemic]. El Faro (in Spanish). 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sheridan, Mary Beth; Brigida, Anna-Catherine (10 May 2021). "Central American Leaders Resisting Biden's Anti-Corruption Efforts". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Tribunal Supremo Electoral – Elecciones 2021 – Diputados y Diputadas para Asamblea Legislativa" [Supreme Electoral Court – 2021 Elections – Deputies for the Legislative Assembly] (PDF). TSE (in Spanish). Supreme Electoral Court. March 2021. pp. 1–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Bremmer, Ian (10 May 2021). "What Happens Next in El Salvador – And What It Means for the U.S. Border". TIME. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Segura, Edwin (1 May 2021). "Ernesto Castro, Favorito para Dirigir la Asamblea Legislativa" [Ernesto Castro, Favorite to Lead the Legislative Assembly]. LaprensaGrafica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  19. ↑ Velásquez, Eugenia (1 May 2021). "Ernesto Castro Será el Nuevo Presidente de la Asamblea para los Tres Años de la Legislatura" [Ernesto Castro Will be the New President of the Assembly for the Three Years of the Legislature]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Crisis Brewing as El Salvador's Congress Votes out Top Judges". Al Jazeera. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 Aleman, Marcos (2 May 2021). "US Expresses Concern Over El Salvador Vote to Remove Judges". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  22. 1 2 "El Supremo de El Salvador Declara Inconstitucional Destitución de Magistrados" [The Supreme Court of El Salvador Declares the Removal of Magistrates as Unconstitutional]. Swissinfo (in Spanish). 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  23. ↑ Alvarado, Jimmy; Lazo, Roxana; Arauz, Sergio (May 2021). "Bukele's Legislative Assembly Ousts Supreme Court Magistrates and Attorney General". El Faro. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  24. ↑ Rubio, Francisco (2 May 2021). "¿Quién es Rodolfo Delgado?, el Fiscal Nombrado por los Diputados Afines a Bukele" [Who is Rodolfo Delgado? The Attorney General Named by the Deputies Affiliated with Bukele]. El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  25. ↑ Sosa, Ricardo (20 December 2021). "La Gestión del Fiscal Rodolfo Delgado en Datos" [The Term of Attorney General Rodolfo Delgado in Statistics]. Contra Punto (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  26. ↑ Hernández, William A. (3 May 2021). "Corte Plena se Instala con Abogados Impuestos por Bancada de Nuevas Ideas" [Full Court is Installed with Lawyers Imposed by the New Ideas Bench]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  27. ↑ Finnegan, Connor (4 May 2021). "El Salvador's President Pushes Ahead with Power Grab Despite US Condemnation". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  28. 1 2 3 "Reaction: What Bukele's Power Grab Means for El Salvador". America's Quarterly. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "El Salvador Rights Groups Warn of "Coup" Against Judiciary Led by President Nayib Bukele". Democracy Now!. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  30. ↑ Pérez, Orlando J.; Pestana, Randy (6 May 2021). "Threats to Democracy Increase as President Bukele Moves to Control El Salvador's Judiciary". The Global Americans. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  31. ↑ Harris, Kamala (2 May 2021). "Kamala Harris on the Legislative Assembly". Twitter. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  32. ↑ Blinken, Antony (2 May 2021). "Antony Blinken on the Removal of Raul Melara". Twitter. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  33. ↑ "United States Announces Actions Against Seven Central American Officials for Undermining Democracy and Obstructing Investigations into Acts of Corruption".
  34. ↑ McGovern, Jim (1 May 2021). "Jim McGovern on the Legislative Assembly". Twitter. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  35. ↑ Borges, Julio (2 May 2021). "Julio Borges on Bukele". Twitter (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  36. ↑ "Statement of the OAS General Secretariat on the Situation in El Salvador". OAS. 2 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  37. ↑ Fieser, Ezra; McDonald, Michael (2 May 2021). "El Salvador's Top Judges, Attorney General Ousted by Ruling Party". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

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