Lawyers agreed that the president has no legal authority to change a legislative decree.
Lawyers agreed that President Nayib Bukele cannot change the nature of the legislative decree declaring January 16 of each year as National Day of Peace in commemoration of the signing of the Peace Accords that ended 12 years of armed conflict in the country.
Bukele wrote last Saturday on his Twitter account that “by presidential decree, January 16 will be ‘the Day of the Victims of Armed Conflict.”
“We will begin to commemorate those who do need to be commemorated. That way we will begin to build peace,” he wrote.
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For the deputy for ARENA and lawyer, René Portillo Quadra, the President of the Republic has no legal powers to change the date declared by legislative decree as a national holiday or the nature of it.
“Legislative decrees to be able to change must go through the Legislative Assembly. The President of the Republic has no legislative powers to be able to declare or decree a date on a national basis, changing its nature and meaning or purpose. for which it was created, “Portillo Quadra said.
Lawyer Marcela Galeas argued that Legislative Decree 139 of 1992 states that every January 16 will be National Peace Day, in commemoration of the signing of Peace Accords.
He assured that it is not attribution of the President of the Republic, since the national days can only be decreed by the Legislative Assembly.
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He added that Bukele “seeing that society condemned this anti-historic position, in which he treated the armed conflict with contempt, and the achievement of national peace, which caused us so much pain to the Salvadorans, he wanted to reduce it with to decree a national day, despite knowing that it is not legally incumbent upon him to do so, ”Galeas said.
Portillo Quadra noted that Bukele, in his eagerness to denature democracy and the Peace Accords, “wants to redirect the celebration to the victims. It is obvious that when the signing of the Peace Accords is celebrated, it also includes the remembrance of the victims who died and the destruction that took place “.
Lawyer Humberto Sáenz wrote on his Twitter account: “No, President. On this day we will continue to commemorate the Peace Accords. It is not you who will tell us what we should celebrate, or how we should say it.”
Patrick Murray wrote on his Twitter account that “January 16 will be the Day of Peace Accords, as long as the public continues to shout and remember it.”
