Human Rights Watch’s director for the Americas stated that “Nayib Bukele seems determined to end the rule of law as soon as possible” and that “the international community must act now.”
José Miguel Vivanco, director for the Americas of Human Rights Watch (HRW), stated in an opinion column published in The New York Times, that the authoritarian actions carried out in recent days by the Government of Nayib Bukele, col They place the Savior “near the abyss”, an abyss in which countries are under totalitarian regimes such as Nicaragua and Venezuela.
According to Vivanco, “Nayib Bukele seems determined to end the rule of law as soon as possible,” referring to the latest decisions taken in the Legislative Assembly and the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, where Bukele’s allies have passed reforms and resolutions that would push for the possibility of the current president being re-elected, something contrary to the Salvadoran Constitution.
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For the HRW representative, these “maneuvers to destroy democracy in El Salvador resemble the attacks on the courts orchestrated at the time by the governments of Nicaragua and Venezuela,” where Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chávez, respectively, went seize the judiciary to consolidate and stay in power.
“This is usually the first step for authoritarian governments. The human rights crises these countries are going through are an example of what happens when a government is allowed to overturn independent judicial review bodies,” adds Vivanco, who more he maintains that “given his authoritarian tendencies, it was not surprising that Bukele and his allies in the Legislative Assembly intervened quickly in justice.”
Bukele has put the Savior on the brink of authoritarian abyss.
You have to stop it.
My article on@nytimeses: https://t.co/CXz6tPW7Ui
– José Miguel Vivanco (@JMVivancoHRW) September 8, 2021
Vivanco also points out that, even before the bureaucracy took control of the Assembly, Bukele had already charged the magistrates of the Chamber, whom he ordered to be dismissed on 1 May. These attacks on the Chamber with maximum constitutional power occurred mainly during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, when several of Bukele’s decrees were declared unconstitutional for failing to adhere to the provisions of the Magna Carta.
Another point that the director of HRW for the Americas points out as an indication of Bukele’s intentions is the reform of the judicial career approved last week by pro-government deputies, which forces more than 150 judges to leave. their positions under criteria such as exceeding 60 years of age or having more than 30 years of holding the position.
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“It is very pertinent to examine the cases of Nicaragua and Venezuela because they warn of leaders who, like Bukele, came to power through elections, but govern with total contempt for the rule of law,” warns Vivanco, and mentions the political situation that currently crosses Nicaraguan territory, where Ortega has ordered arbitrary arrests against his opponents, journalists, and presidential candidates, all in order to ensure a new victory in the presidential elections to be held next November.
Therefore, the head of HRW believes that “it is possible that El Salvador is the country closest to the abyss. The international community must act now if it wants to prevent another country in Latin America where the deterioration of the rule of law and the lack of public freedoms are imposed “
In the face of this, he also calls on international organizations and the strongest democracies in the region to collectively condemn the events that took place in El Salvador. “It may be too late to prevent an absolute retreat towards authoritarianism in El Salvador,” he concludes.
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