The mayor of San Salvador, who is seeking re-election, presents some of his main ideas if he is re-elected. However, he regrets the systematic blockade of the central government. “Still, we’re going upstairs,” he says with some optimism.
The mayor of the capital denounces government blockades and a use of state resources to spread in favor of new ideas. He says these abuses have not even been seen in the governments of the FMLN, a party he describes as authoritarian and dictatorial. Despite this, he says he is optimistic he will win re-election. This was discussed with El Diario de Hoy:
Polls show a tight situation. How do you see your current candidacy?
We risk not only the mayor of San Salvador, but also the defense of democracy. I see the use of state resources and institutions for electoral political propaganda and the attack on opponents in a way that has never been done, not even with the governments of the Front, which is a party with an authoritarian, dictatorial, castro-chavista vocation. And even so, we go up because the population appreciates the work we have done. No matter how much it blocks us, we will respond with more work and more work.
What are the main challenges facing the City Hall?
Financial blockages, not only the 9 months of Fodes they owe us, which in San Salvador means $ 5.5 million. They blocked access to financing, the Ministry of Finance does not provide us with the necessary classification for loans. The superintendent of the financial system has threatened banks to withdraw their licenses if they lend to the mayor’s office. The Ministry of Labor threatened the financial institutions with marches and personally threatened the directors of the entities that granted us loans, suing them for money laundering.
They said they would be different. We never imagined that the president would allow it.
Read also: If Bukele insists on eliminating Fodes “the safest thing is that he will be prosecuted”, says the mayor
Do you think there’s a line from him attacking you?
When they nominated a candidate, I asked Nayib (Bukele) for a meeting and we talked. He received me at the Presidential House and I asked him if there would be a campaign against Mario Durán, against the government or against him. He told me he wouldn’t come in. And so far he has not intervened, but I did not think that they would use state resources and institutions not only to promote their candidate, but to block and intimidate us. I asked Nayib if they would use state institutions and he said no, but he did not comply.
Do you think all that blockade happens without the president ordering or agreeing to it?
The Minister of Labor has his economic interests. I dismantled the corruption network in the mayor’s office, hundreds of thousands of dollars they received from phantom jobs, uneducated overtime and more. The Minister of Interior, Mario Durán, wants to reach the mayor’s office and promised the Minister of Labor to return illegal privileges and much more.
Unfortunately, they allowed this in the presidency and I thought they were different and would not borrow in this regard. Nayib told me he would not allow state resources to be used for the campaign, but they did.
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In your place, you appear with the president. What is the message if your government is blocking you?
That we are willing to work together, put people first and put party or personal interests aside. Unfortunately, at least during the election period, they think they are hurting me, but they are hurting the population, such as filling the city with garbage and generating an environmental crisis in the middle of a pandemic just to win votes, it is inconceivable.
Do you trust these choices?
The fraud started 8 months ago. Ever since they stopped paying Fodes, because they are trying to financially drown the town halls. Over 200 municipalities depend on Fodes with over 25%, which is used for current expenses and salaries. Thousands of works have been stopped and it is outrageous to see the finance minister mocking that he will not pay for it after the election. It is outrageous that the Prosecutor’s Office did not act in the face of these flagrant violations of the law and the Constitution. They did not pay political debts, so that only the ruling party could campaign.
Why did you choose again?
Our work speaks for us and it is not Ernesto Muyshondt, but my team. I did territory work, not office work. We put people first and came to solve the problems of the main population centers. We have been through a pandemic and an electoral pandemic, but 83% support our management despite what we have faced.
What quality leaps has capital taken?
Management is not based on a single person, but on people. Our works do not look so beautiful in one place, but they solve problems. We’ve done over 700 courts, and when you make a good court, crime rates are reduced by up to four times. We have made emblematic works such as Cuscatlán Park, Hula Hula Park or the digital library. I did six daily jobs that change the lives of the most vulnerable and needy people. We did not reach the communities just to ask for the vote, but the whole period of our administration. We would have liked to build more yards, a municipal hospital, a park in Simón Bolívar Square or the underground electrification in Rubén Darío Street. All this was stopped due to Fode’s non-payment and other government blockades.
What do you offer for the next three years?
We will present in a few days our government plan with the 5 axes and which offers the continuity of what we have done in these two and a half years. A single municipal government cannot transform the city, we must unite the citizens, the private sector, NGOs, international cooperation and the central government, if it allows it. And they allowed this until before the campaign, much more than FMLN did.
What is the risk of giving full control to a single party?
For a democracy to be healthy, there must be a balance of power, control and balance. Total power corrupts anyone.
Related note: San Salvador mayor resumes garbage collection after 6 days of suspension due to ASTRAM blockade
There are those who see the lack of democracy as a non-immediate problem. Can you quantify how much the population has affected the electoral use of state institutions?
Thousands of works were stopped. Tens of thousands of municipal employees did not receive a salary in December or a Christmas bonus, there are municipal governments that have not received salaries since August. In addition, it works for the most vulnerable families. I trusted Nayib, I thought he would do well. But he allowed so many things.
He allowed the Minister of Labor, a proven criminal, to do the things he does. And I know he knows he’s a murderer, because he himself has confirmed that he knows. The fact that he appointed him Minister of Labor, harassing companies like him, brings us back a lot. I hope you will reflect and succeed in maintaining healthy controls in a democracy.
For this balance, matches are still valuable. We currently don’t see ARENA colors in your campaign. How do you connect with your party?
Our campaign is just beginning. I think my party’s criticisms are obvious. ARENA must represent the vast majority and not the small power groups. But I am identified with the ARENA principles and the defense of freedoms, property and republicanism. After the elections, I will dedicate the effort to the reforms that the party needs.