In his chain, he made statements that did not correspond to his style of government in one year and 9 months.
On Sunday, March 21, the President of the Republic again addressed the Salvadorans through a national network.
The aim of this was to send a triumphant message after the overwhelming victory of his two parties, New Ideas and GANA, in the February 28 elections. After that, the ruling party took over the qualified majority of the legislature and the vast majority of mayors in the country.
Unlike his previous networks, the president seemed more composed. This was a speech alone, not surrounded by his office or the usual group of policemen and soldiers who give it in speeches.
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The main theme was to emphasize that the triumph of his party was democratic and that, from May 1, the ruling party will have the control that the people have decided to grant.
However, in his seemingly moderate speech, he maintained some of the rhetorical lines he had used for years.
His message called, as usual, for a story that begins on the day he came to power, as well as the disqualification of “traditional power groups”, a category that includes traditional political parties, but also their critics.
And in some passages of his speech, as before, Bukele moved away from the reality that ruled the country from June 1, 2019, when he took over the reins of the country and raised alleged attitudes and ways of exercising power that have no basis in the events of the last almost 22 months.
A “democratic” triumph
It is undeniable that the President of the Republic, Nayib Bukele, came to the presidency in 2019 with a wide validation of the population. On February 3 of that year, he received more than 53% of the vote, and his support was greater than that of ARENA and FMLN combined.
Likewise, in the legislative and municipal elections, the ruling party increased its number of votes. In short, it is a reality that Salvadorans have decided to trust Bukele to govern, legislate and appoint second-rate officials.
But democracy is a form of government that transcends popular legitimacy. In other words, it is not enough to be elected democratically, but to be governed democratically.
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And there Bukele’s words, his constant exaltation of democracy, collide with the first wall of reality.
One of the most basic pillars of democratic life is free and fair elections. But in the just-concluded election cycle, the government has abused its resources and influence to favor candidates who promote New Ideas and GANA.
During this election cycle it was common to see officials proselytizing, something prohibited by the Constitution, the Electoral Code and which was strengthened by the Constitutional Chamber, which recalled in 2014 that it is illegal to take advantage of a position and its influence. bring.in the campaign.
THE REPUBLIC AND DEMOCRACY UNDER THE THREAT OF THE PUBLIC
Nayib Bukele’s speech was loaded with allusions to democracy and even a mention of the republican system of government that is based on respecting the balance of power.
However, in his administration, he used the power of the security forces as an instrument of pressure, which breaks the spirit of peace agreements and democratic institutions.
In this process, the military takeover of the Legislative Assembly on February 9, 2020 is noticeable. At that time, the president misused his weapons and put pressure on deputies to vote for a loan.
Talking about republic and democracy implies respect for the Constitution, but in reality, the government has gone in the opposite direction.
The same president, on election day, demanded the vote of the ruling party, in violation of legality. This attitude looks like an exact copy of what former President Mauricio Funes did, who on February 2, 2014 came out to ask for the vote for who will become his successor, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, in violation of the Constitution.
The government also ignored the ban on inaugurating and advertising public works or other programs in the run-up to the election. This provision is made to avoid an unjustified advantage in elections.
And at the same time that the ruling party was taking advantage of an unjustified advantage with public funds, the opposition competed “with its hands tied”. This is because the government has not paid its political debt, ie the funding that the parties must receive from the state. This placed the opposition at a clear disadvantage in the face of a powerful state machine.
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On the other hand, the Government has chosen not to grant Fodes which, by law, it must grant to mayors. The Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, even joked that this money could be delivered after the elections.
With this, the Executive managed to financially drown most of the communes in the country, which use this money not only for works and investments, but also for their salary payments and daily operations.
In summary, the Salvadoran electorate chose to grant the majority of the Nueva Ideas and GANA consortium, but the election conditions were not fair or balanced for all parties in the contest.
Democracy, which the president is now proclaiming, was also present in the proceedings, but on closer inspection, the abuse of funds and the state’s privileged megaphone are noticeable.
Freedom of expression
In his speech, the President alluded to the fact that “traditional power groups” remained without influence to legislate or promote second-degree appointments.
However, he said they would be able to continue to express their views in press releases, events or interviews and said that in El Salvador “freedom of expression is respected”.
Although the Constitution recognizes this right in its Article 6, the actions of its government have gone in the opposite direction. In less than two years in power, the president and his officials have harassed and humiliated critical journalists and citizens. This has led to hostilities and hate speeches by government fanatics and even threats to those questioning the government, which Bukele has never censored or condemned.
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The muscle of state regulation has also been used to try to intimidate the media, and state guidelines have been used to punish those who practice journalism in a critical way.
The government has closed down channels of communication with independent media, which do not have official versions, and access to public information is declining, which acts as a necessary counterpart to freedom of expression.
Those affected are citizens, who are increasingly losing access to critical voices and legitimate questions and whose doors are being closed to know how public resources are being used.
In the same vein, the President offered dialogue to his opponents. However, since he came to power, he has made countless efforts to silence them and punish the opposition. In the same speech, he said that he would not negotiate with FMLN and ARENA, parties that he despises and that were severely defeated, but which obtained almost half a million votes in the last elections. If the ruling party chooses to ignore them completely, it would turn its back on a minority but important part of the electorate.
And yes, democracy must respect the will of the majority, but with undisguised respect for the fundamental rights of minorities.