Lawyers agreed that the president does not have the legal power to change a legislative decree.
Lawyers have agreed that President Nayib Bukele cannot change the nature of the legislative decree declaring January 16 of each year the National Day of Peace in commemoration of the signing of the Peace Accords that ended 12 years of conflict. armed 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 should be commemorated. That’s how we will start building peace, “he wrote.
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For the deputy and lawyer of ARENA, René Portillo Cuadra, the President of the Republic has no legal powers to be able to change the date declared by legislative decree as a national holiday or its nature.
“Legislative decrees to be amended must go through the Legislative Assembly. The President of the Republic does not have the legislative powers to be able to declare or decree a national date, changing the nature and significance or purpose for which it was created “, said Portillo Cuadra.
Lawyer Marcela Galeas stated that Legislative Decree 139 of 1992 establishes that every January 16 will be the National Day of Peace, in commemoration of the signing of the Peace Agreements.
He assured that it is not the responsibility of the President of the Republic, as national days can only be decreed by the Legislative Assembly.
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He added that Bukele “seeing that society condemned this anti-historical position, in which he treated the armed conflict with contempt, and the achievement of national peace, which caused us so much pain in Salvadorans, wanted to diminish it by decreeing a national day, even knowing that it is not legally his responsibility to do so, “Galeas said.
Portillo Cuadra stressed that Bukele, in his desire to distort democracy and peace agreements, “wants to redirect the holiday to the victims. It is obvious that when the signing of the Peace Accords is celebrated, it also includes the memory 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 agreements. You will not tell us what we should celebrate or how we should tell him. “
Patrick Murray wrote on a Twitter account that “January 16 will be Peace Agreement Day, as long as citizens continue to call and remember it.”
