San Salvador.
Marked as authoritarian and populist by his opponents, but strengthened by him partyor whoever helped create it, President Him Salvador, Nayib Bukele, you can get control of Parliament Yes wins the majority of the municipalityis elections Sunday and assures control of the country.
If the projections from polls are met “there would be a concentration of power to President of the Republicas much as he could adopt, reform or repeal laws that’s it convenience “Saúl Baños, director of the Foundation for Law Enforcement Studies (Fespad), told AFP.
New Ideas Party (NI), promoted by Clock, leads preferences for elections depending on all polls. Currently, the legislature is controlled by opposition parties Arena (right) and ex-guerrilla FMLN (left), which counterbalances it.
May be “Deduces” that new ideas will receive 55 Members, with less than a qualified majority, said the rector of the University of Central America (UCA), Andreu Oliva, when he presented February 12 sthe latest poll on these elections.
Baños recalled that since signing Peace agreements in 1992 which ended with twelve years of civil war, no party got ita simple majority of 43 Members In the 84-seat unicameral Congress, dialogue had to prevail in order to govern.
Independence at risk
“If the electoral scenario is favorable (to Bukele), comes o profound change in constitutional and institutional matters “, warns Baños, referring to the fact that, since last year, a commission chaired by the Vice-President, happy Ulloa, studies a reform of the Constitution.
However, Ulloa has since ruled this out reforms It is intended to change “stone” aspects such as alternation in the presidency.
If the president gets the majority in legislative assembly, according to Baños, a “Risk for the country“It simply came to our notice then OFFICIALS persons who “do not exercise independent “.
For Baños, the almost two years of leadership dand Bukele were characterized by some “Authoritarian actions” so “Concentration of power” it could be used to “make small decisions democratic “.
Sunday, about 5.4 million Salvadoran must elect the new Congress, 262 mayors of the country and a number of deputies from The Central American Parliament (Parlacen), an institution dedicated to regional integration.
The elected officials will assume the mandate of three years on May 1st.
Meet the needs
“The best ally of government (of Bukele) at this time is not a political party, they are the same people, “political analyst and university professor Dagoberto Gutiérrez told AFP.
Conservative and with a management of populist court, the president aimed traditional parties and accuses them of having done nothing for him people.
Clock “it’s very skillful and intelligent as he responds people’s needshe gives them food, he gave them money, offers another help that no one has ever given him people and that is its potential, ”Gutiérrez sums up.
Of pandemic covid-19, Bukele since April last year delivered a voucher of $ 300 for families in needs and then distributed food among the citizens.
Although, if Bukele gets the majority, “this does not mean that people give a blank check, it does not, on the contrary, force the government to comply what was promised “, considers the analyst.
Among the promises that Clock must respect, according to Gutierrez, is that of generate jobs and look for one improving the economy.
Clock he came to power almost two years ago and still has three terms. But it will only be from 1st May, when he takes over the new parliament, which will begin governing because, according to Gutiérrez, the opposition parties did not allow him to “have it made everything difficult and that took effect. “
Democracy or authoritarianism
The President of the Legislative Assembly, Mario ponce, who is looking for his re-election What the deputy, warned that the country has only two paths: “the path of democracy and freedom and the path of authoritarianism where they restrict freedoms and individual and collective rights of all kinds are trampled on ”.
If the Salvadorans want to “lives in democracy “ must renew a balance of power in the country and which has been historically maintained, which has forced governments to seek alliances to govern.
Ponce warned that the government of Bukele sit was characterized by “authoritarianism“, for which he considered it necessary for” the people to go to the polls and maintain the “counterweights of democracy” in Congress.