Experts say that the president engages in “disobedience”, sanctioned in the Criminal Code.
Several constitutional lawyers explained to El Diario de Hoy that the Prosecutor’s Office is called by law to enforce the Constitution by President Nayib Bukele, because it refused to comply with the mandate of the Assembly to dismiss the director of police Girls Mauricio Arriaza.
“Everyone has duties to perform, if the resolution of the Assembly says the dismissal of the Director of Police and the President (Bukele) ignores it, then there is the other crime which is disobedience, the Prosecutor’s Office must assess whether that crime took place and to manage compliance. This assembly should be in the Judiciary “, said the constitutional lawyer, Francisco Bertrand Galindo.
He added that the whole process stemming from the conflict between the two state bodies stems from it: the Assembly and the Executive “can reach the Constitutional Chamber through the available judicial channels,” he argued. .
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The offense of “disobedience” is provided for in Article 322 of the Criminal Code, which provides that: “A civil servant or employee, public servant or public authority who openly refuses to comply with the punishment, decisions or orders of a superior and covered by legal formalities, shall be punished by imprisonment from six months to one year and disqualification from holding office or office at the same time ”.
In this regard, the criminal lawyer, Marcela Galeas, also reports the obligation of the President of the Republic, established in Article 236 of the Constitution, to be accountable to the Assembly for “official and common crimes they commit” through a preliminary trial. court. to withdraw jurisdiction.
The constitutional lawyer, René Hernández Valiente, mentioned that both Bukele and Arriaza Chicas are being prosecuted. Bukele for “disobedience” and Arriaza Chicas for “usurpation of functions”.
“The appeal is addressed to the prosecutor (Raúl Melara), if the Assembly has already decided and if the president does not comply, the order itself has already been issued. In the case of Arriaza Chicas, he is no longer the director of the Police and, if he does not obey, he usurps public positions, there are sanctions, it depends on the prosecutor “, said Hernández Valiente.
The lawyer regretted that Bukele’s disobedience would make the country look bad in terms of international agreements, in fact, in its report, the Assembly invokes the Inter-American Democratic Charter of which El Salvador is a party to the Organization of American States (OAS).
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Hernández Valiente regretted that the countries governed by totalitarian regimes do not comply with the provisions, which has serious repercussions, such as the “isolation” of these aid governments and international cooperation programs.
“If the President of the Republic does not take into account, ignoring the Constitution when a program comes, it affects the fact that he is isolated from international cooperation, it is extremely serious,” said Hernández Valiente, adding that if the Prosecutor’s Office does nothing, El Salvador would enter a “constitutional crisis”.