A letter from José Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch’s director for the Americas, urges the International Monetary Fund to put in place democratic and transparency clauses before giving more money to El Salvador.
In a letter to the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in El Salvador, Alina Carere, the director for the Americas of Human Rights Watch (HRW), José Miguel Vivanco, called for this entity to pay attention to the constant blows of the Nayib Bukele government to democracy, as well as its efforts to undermine transparency and the fight against corruption.
In his letter, to which El Diario de Avui had access, Vivanco, a constant critic of Bukele’s abuses of power, alluded to the negotiations that El Salvador is holding with the Fund for a credit of $ 1.3 billion to restructure the country ‘s debt and give public finances a break.
In this regard, he called on the IMF to pay attention to the worrying “credible” signs of corruption within the Nayib Bukele government, as well as the constant blows it has dealt to democracy. These, he explained, are not just abstract concepts but conditions that threaten the country’s progress and the well-being of its citizens.
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“Since taking power, President Bukele has dramatically undermined transparency, accountability and progressively dismantled the brakes and counterweights, increasing the risk of corruption and threatening the country’s economic recovery,” Vivanco said. His diagnosis coincides with that of local and international actors, including the government’s view of Joe Biden who sees in the lack of governance and corruption factors that are stagnating in the country and pushing thousands to emigrate irregularly.
democratic clauses
In negotiations with El Salvador, Vivanco called on the IMF to establish democratic clauses that condition the delivery of funds to the government in exchange for the government’s commitment to end the coups in the rule of law and the dismantling of government institutions. control such as the Supreme Court of Justice, the Institute for Access to Public Information or the Attorney General’s Office, all institutions captured by the bureaucracy.
“Amid credible allegations of corruption in procurement to address covid-19 and government efforts to dismantle institutions responsible for conducting criminal investigations and increase transparency in public spending, it is critical that any new credit under negotiation includes safeguards effective anti-corruption, “said the director of Human Rights Watch.
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“Specifically,” he added, “the Fund should require the government to cease its attacks on the rule of law, make its spending transparent, conduct a full audit of its spending to address covid-19 and prosecute anyone involved. in corruption “.
Vivanco’s requests contrast with reality
Nayib Bukele’s anti-democratic prompt is broad. From stigmatizing statements to journalists and critics, he has gone on to militarize the Legislative Assembly, order his deputies a coup from the judiciary, and persecute his political opponents. Likewise, the president who campaigned on the basis of condemning the corruption of the past, has allowed numerous irregularities in his close circles without any consequences.
Seven people in his immediate circle were mentioned on the Engel list, which was prepared by the U.S. government and includes corrupt and undemocratic actors in the region, and while they have reduced their public appearances, they were never publicly placed by it. president who demanded politicians of the past “return the stolen.”
The director of Human Rights Watch cites some examples: the weakening and capture of the IAIP, the illegal and express dismissal of judges from the Constitutional Chamber and the Attorney General, intimidation of magistrates and deputies before controlling the Judiciary, and the Legislature, the dissolution of the CICIES that investigated the Executive and found at least 12 signs of corruption, the law that shielded irregularities committed in pandemic, among others.
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In view of these attitudes, Vivanco calls on the International Monetary Fund to make effective its declarations of transparency and good governance.
“We appreciate the fund’s growing attention to transparency and accountability, including its response to the covid-19 pandemic,” the HRW official told the Fund’s head of mission in El Salvador. He also recalled the words of IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, who told Transparency International that “endemic corruption undermines sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”
Therefore, he was surprised by the resources that the Fund gave to El Salvador in April 2020 to deal with the pandemic without any requirement of transparency or suitability. However, more than a reflection on the past, Vivanco calls for this mistake not to be made again and to begin addressing “governance gaps in El Salvador.”
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