El Salvador president's power play stokes democracy concerns
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
El Salvador president's power play stokes democracy concerns

World+Biz

Reuters
11 February, 2020, 09:45 am
Last modified: 11 February, 2020, 09:50 am

Related News

  • Why Ukrainians distrust Germany’s President
  • Burkina junta chief sworn in as president
  • Tunisian president dissolves Supreme Judicial Council
  • Turkish journalist arrested on charge of insulting Erdogan
  • EU Parliament President Sassoli has died - spokesperson

El Salvador president's power play stokes democracy concerns

The youthful president, who identified as a leftist at the start of his political career with the FMLN before changing parties, has sky-high popularity ratings after overturning the moribund two-party system in an election last year

Reuters
11 February, 2020, 09:45 am
Last modified: 11 February, 2020, 09:50 am
Soldiers leave the National Congress as supporters of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele protest outside the building to push for the approval of funds for a government security plan in San Salvador, El Salvador February 9, 2020. Photo:Reuters
Soldiers leave the National Congress as supporters of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele protest outside the building to push for the approval of funds for a government security plan in San Salvador, El Salvador February 9, 2020. Photo:Reuters

President Nayib Bukele's use of armed soldiers in El Salvador's parliament over the weekend has alarmed political foes and rights groups, with growing fears about democratic backsliding in the crime-ravaged Central American nation.

Bukele, 38, on Sunday showed up in the National Assembly with a group of uniformed soldiers wielding automatic weapons for a special session he convened, amid attempts to pressure parliamentarians to pass his crime-fighting plan. He also warned lawmakers that the people have a right to "insurrection."

The show of force inside the country's parliament drew condemnation from across the political spectrum and some foreign nations, amid worries El Salvador's young democracy may be harmed by presidential overreach.

Concerns that Bukele is using troops to intimidate lawmakers comes at a time when leaders of several nations in Latin America, where military rule was common in the 1970s and 80s, are leaning on armed forces to give them a helping hand in domestic politics.

"The Salvadoran military should not be used to resolve disputes between the president and congress. Civilian differences should be resolved by civilian institutions," said Eliot Engel, chairman of the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee.

"The eyes of the world are on El Salvador and @nayibbukele at this critical moment," he added, in a post on the committee's Twitter account.

Both of El Salvador's traditional parties, the right-wing ARENA and leftist FMLN, founded by former guerrillas, accused Bukele of attempting a type of "coup" against other branches of government.

Oscar Ortiz, secretary general of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) party, said Bukele's actions marked "the blackest day" for the country's democracy.

The youthful president, who identified as a leftist at the start of his political career with the FMLN before changing parties, has sky-high popularity ratings after overturning the moribund two-party system in an election last year.

But he lacks a majority in parliament. Bukele's right-wing Great National Alliance (GANA) party and allies control only 11 of the 84 seats in the National Assembly. Arena has 37 lawmakers.

The former one-term mayor of the capital, San Salvador, replied to critics of his move on Monday, saying it was evidence of a corrupt system protecting itself.

Bukele wants lawmakers to agree to a $109 million loan to help equip police and soldiers in the fight against crime in a nation racked by gang violence. He gave them a week-long deadline to pass the loan legislation, without specifying what action he would take if they failed to meet his demands.

El Salvador's murder rate has plunged since Bukele took office in July but remains high.

Warnings about a democratic reversal have deep resonance in El Salvador, where about 75,000 were killed and 8,000 disappeared during a 12-year civil war between the military and FMLN, which became a political party at the end of the war in 1992.

On Sunday, the United Nations called for dialogue, while Costa Rica said it trusted the constitution would be respected in light of the events in parliament.

Bukele has been a strong US ally on issues such as immigration and a critic of "anti-democratic" regional governments, especially in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Honduras.

Marvin Ponce, adviser to Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, said Bukele's poll ratings had gone to his head and he was acting like a "dictator" who was "unhinged" by power.

"It's a bad example for democracies in Latin America," Ponce told Reuters.

Top News

El Salvador / President

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
    Are banks only gainers from dollar crisis?
  • PK Halder wants to return home
    PK Halder wants to return home
  • Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 
    Exporters for continuation of 0.5% source tax for 5 years 

MOST VIEWED

  • An employee takes granules of 99.99 percent pure gold at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant, one of the world's largest producers in the precious metals industry, in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin
    Russia gives Credit Bank of Moscow licence to export gold
  • Swedish and NATO flags are seen printed on paper this illustration taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Denmark, Iceland and Norway 'strongly welcome' Finnish and Swedish decision to apply for NATO membership
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses South Korean parliament via video link, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 11, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
    Ukraine's president says he discussed need for financial support with IMF's Georgieva
  • An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, U.S., April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Marcy de Luna
    Surging natural gas prices squeeze US industrial sector
  • NATO prepares to add Finland and Sweden to northern defenses
    NATO prepares to add Finland and Sweden to northern defenses
  • Newly-appointed French Prime Minister Jean Castex arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 7, 2020. Photo:Reuters
    French PM hands in resignation ahead of expected cabinet overhaul

Related News

  • Why Ukrainians distrust Germany’s President
  • Burkina junta chief sworn in as president
  • Tunisian president dissolves Supreme Judicial Council
  • Turkish journalist arrested on charge of insulting Erdogan
  • EU Parliament President Sassoli has died - spokesperson

Features

Bitcoin, by far the largest cryptocurrency, is a terrible substitute for government-issued money. Photo: Reuters

Crypto’s wild week offers a much-needed warning

12h | Panorama
Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

12h | Brands
Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

13h | Brands
Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

12h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

Finland, Sweden decide to join NATO

4h | Videos
Where you can swim for Tk5

Where you can swim for Tk5

5h | Videos
Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

Cultural activists pay tribute to Hassan Arif

9h | Videos
How PK Halder becomes a scamster

How PK Halder becomes a scamster

9h | Videos

Most Read

1
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

2
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

3
Impact of falling taka against US dollar
Banking

Taka losing more value as global currency market volatility persists

4
Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve
Economy

Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve

5
Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 
Banking

Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 

6
How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives
Bazaar

How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab