The director of the American Division of Human Rights Watch says that with the government of Joe Biden in the United States, “the party for the Salvadoran president will end.”
José Miguel Vivanco, director of the American Division of Human Rights Watch, said that President Nayib Bukele took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic “in a flagrant way” to concentrate power and, at the same time, to weaken controls, brakes and weights. contained in Salvadoran democracy in order to guarantee a democratic exercise of power and to prevent and prevent human rights abuses.
“Bukele ignored, laughed at the repeated rulings of the Supreme Court demanding compliance with the country’s constitution, and the pandemic crisis came as a ring to his finger to back down on democratic controls and public freedoms in El Salvador,” says Vivanco.
He believes that President Nayib Bukele “will end the party when the administration of Joe Biden begins” on January 20, during the Donald Trump administration, and with the silence and, in some cases, the applause of the former US ambassador to El Salvador. Ronald Johnson, the president, felt free to “continue to do and undo.
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The human rights defender points out that, with the control of Democrats in the House and Senate, it will be possible to put effective brakes on President Bukele so that he does not continue to destroy democratic institutions as he did.
Vivanco made remarks during the presentation of Human Rights Watch’s global human rights report, which summarized the situation in the Latin American region.
With regard to the forthcoming elections in El Salvador, he indicated that he hoped that it would be conducted with transparency, freedom and credibility.
“We will continue to monitor the situation in El Salvador closely, because we must prevent El Salvador from becoming a dictatorship. It is a democracy, I insist, that has a caudillo like Bukele, but so far it has demonstrated a great consistency in its democratic institutions in defending the values that protect the political Constitution “, says Vivanco.
He believes that in El Salvador, unlike Nicaragua, there is no dictatorship, despite the actions of President Bukele, “who is making extraordinary efforts to turn the country into his personal dictatorship.”
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“El Salvador’s surprise is that, despite being a young democracy, it has shown that it has an independent judiciary, with Supreme Court magistrates who had the courage, courage and integrity to defend the Constitution,” says Vivanco.
He adds that there are also political parties, authorities such as the Prosecutor’s Office that could be stronger and more active, but which have significant degrees of autonomy.
“I would like (the Prosecutor’s Office) to be much more active in defense, in investigating crimes of abuse committed by the state, not only in the field of human rights, but also in areas such as corruption,” says the human rights defender.
It is said that in El Salvador there is a very strong society and a private sector that is active and defends the values of an open and democratic society.
“I think the track became difficult for Mr. Bukele with Biden’s choice. Biden knows Central America very well and is very well advised on the fragility of the democratic system and the need to strengthen democratic institutions, especially in Central America and especially in El Salvador, ”Vivanco points out.
Region with a lack of leadership in human rights
“Last year was probably one of the worst years for human rights, I dare say in the last three decades, it was a very difficult year for the cause of human rights, for the first time we are in this region suffering what I think is appropriate to qualify as the consolidation of three dictatorships, that of (Nicolás) Maduro (in Venezuela), that of (Daniel) Ortega (in Nicaragua) and that of Cuba, ”he said.
He adds that 2020 has seen the consolidation of these three dictatorships, despite international pressure and existing complaints and documentation about the crimes committed by these countries.
Vivanco believes that there has been a lack of leadership in the region for the cause of human rights, which is notorious in countries such as Brazil and Mexico, led by populist leaders and demagogues, because in both cases there is a deep contempt for democratic values, for public freedoms. for human rights and the rule of law.
He believes that this is because there is a lack of Latin American voices capable of moving and defending the cause of human rights, where the lack of credibility of these governments does not help to improve the human rights situation at the regional level.
To this is added the management of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who, with his despotic and populist behavior, contributes to the climate of unrest regarding human rights.
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He points out that the COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated the deep inequalities and conditions in which the pandemic has been controlled by untrained police forces, acting with impunity and violence and, in many cases, corrupting the abuse of power. .
In the context of the pandemic, freedom of information and freedom of the press have suffered heavy losses, says Vivanco, mainly through leading governments such as El Salvador, chaired by Nayib Bukele, where freedom of the press and freedom of the press have been restricted. Access to information.
Vivanco exposed the case of Mexico, where it is dangerous to practice journalism, as 23 journalists died for investigations into corruption or drug trafficking, where he says no serious efforts are being made to end the phenomenon, and the cases are not, also investigated. .
Regarding the role of the Organization of American States (OAS), Vivanco points out that the current executive secretary, Luis Almagro, focused on the dictatorships in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, which need international attention because they are strengthened, but he was too selective then when there are other nations that deserve permanent monitoring, reporting and alert for human rights failures and a good example of this is the case of Bukele in El Salvador.
“But they are not the only ones, they are not the only places where there are withdrawals in terms of human rights, fundamental rights, public freedoms and also the exercise of democracy.”