{"code":"25255","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"1089","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202102\/el_salvador\/25255","link_edit":"","name":"Inside Civil Society's Bid to Strengthen El Salvador's Anti-Corruption Commission","slug":"inside-civil-societys-bid-to-strengthen-el-salvadors-anti-corruption-commission","info":"","mtag":"Corruption","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"}}},"view":"1089","pict":{"cms-image-000035690-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"35690","name":"cms-image-000035690.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000035690.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000035690.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000035690-jpg","text":"","capt":""}},"pict_main__sort":35690,"date":{"live":"2021\/02\/17"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2021","data_post_dateLive_MM":"02","data_post_dateLive_DD":"17","text":"\u003Cp id=\"docs-internal-guid-ae55d0b2-7fff-f3c2-6985-08226cb712ee\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor the past year El Salvador\u2019s official response to the pandemic has been marred with allegations of inflated contracts, self-dealing, and fraud. To combat the widespread corruption, and to check the future influence the Bukele administration could exert on state regulators under a Legislative Assembly controlled by the president\u2019s party starting May 1, advocates have proposed a law that would significantly expand the toolkit of the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES).\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EStemming corruption is a political lightning rod in El Salvador. Of the past five presidents, prosecutors have saddled three with embezzlement or money laundering charges. Bukele made the establishment of an international anti-corruption commission a core campaign pledge. Faced with two proposals for the commission in 2019, Bukele \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202002\/el_salvador\/23989\/The-UN-drew-up-plans-for-a-CICIES-similar-to-Guatemala%E2%80%99s-but-Bukele-opted-for-the-OAS%E2%80%99s-proposal-instead.htm\"\u003Eopted for that of the Organization of American States (OAS)\u003C\/a\u003E, which envisioned the CICIES as a technical advisor, over the more independent commission proposed by the United Nations based on the experience of Guatemala\u2019s now-defunct international commission, the CICIG.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWhen the CICIES opened shop that November, many close observers read Bukele\u2019s choice of proposal as a sign that the long-awaited commission had fallen short: \u201cWe always believed that the CICIES should have the independent powers to investigate corruption cases and press charges, while still in collaboration with the attorney general,\u201d explained Leonor Arteaga, program director of impunity and grave human rights violations at the Due Process of Law Foundation, an international legal advocacy group based in Washington.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe original agreement between Bukele and the OAS stated that Bukele should work with the Legislative Assembly to convert the administration\u2019s cooperation agreement with the commission into binding domestic law, but thus far the president has not done so. A coalition of NGOs, including the DPLF, is seeking to fill this legislative void by proposing such a law in the closing months before elections widely expected to reshape the legislature in favor of the Bukele administration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cUnder these new circumstances, and given that the current U.S. administration will have an important presence in the OAS, the panorama is changing and making way for a CICIES more in harmony with what we hoped it would be,\u201d said Roberto Rubio, executive director of the National Foundation for Development (Funde), a Salvadoran research institution focused on economic development and transparency.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ETheir proposed law, which Mario Ponce, president of the Legislative Assembly, presented to the legislature on February 3, seeks to ease the contradiction at the core of the initial OAS cooperation agreement: in order for the CICIES to look into corruption, it has to first receive an invitation from the very institutions it is tasked with investigating. Under the new law, Salvadoran public institutions would be unable to sway the commission\u2019s investigations by crafting their own cooperation agreements; the state\u2019s full cooperation with the commission\u2019s investigations would be mandatory and the terms set by the legislature.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EUnder the proposal, the commission\u2019s investigations into corruption would extend not only to the executive branch, but to the Legislative Assembly, courts, mayor\u2019s offices, and all other institutions of the Salvadoran state. The proposal would also shift the relationship between El Salvador\u2019s Attorney General\u2019s Office (Fiscal\u00eda), the only state actor with the legal power to press charges, and the commission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWhen [the CICIES] finds evidence of corruption, the constitution would require them to report it to the Attorney General, but if prosecutors don\u2019t act on the evidence in a given time frame, then the case would be converted to a private action so that the CICIES could come and press charges,\u201d Gilberto Calder\u00f3n, constitutional litigation manager for the Salvadoran human rights organization Azul Originario, told El Faro.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAzul Originario, Funde, and DPLF are three of fifteen sponsor organizations including well-known Salvadoran and international human rights, legal, and transparency groups. Cristosal, a Central American human rights organization tied to the international Episcopal church, is another leading proponent of the bill. There\u2019s also Mario Vega, a prominent Evangelical pastor and columnist who is the sole individual participant in the coalition.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe proposal would also require that the commission maintain complete financial and operational independence from the presidency and other state actors, continue to collaborate with the Attorney General\u2019s Office (Fiscal\u00eda), establish cooperation agreements with other state actors, including the courts and police, and involve civil society in its corruption monitoring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAnother factor in the organizations\u2019 calculus, said Noah Bullock, executive director of Cristosal, is shifting geopolitics under the Biden administration.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThe U.S. administration has clearly stated that one of the conditions for bilateral relations will be a substantive commitment to the fight against corruption and for democratic governance,\u201d he stated. The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador has vocally defended the commission since the change of administration. \u201cThe United States government continues to support the CICIES in the fight against corruption and impunity in El Salvador,\u201d \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/USAmbSV\/status\/1354551532147113985\"\u003Etweeted Brendan O\u2019Brien\u003C\/a\u003E, the highest-ranking interim embassy official, on January 28. \u201cWe\u2019re impressed with the initial success of the joint work of the CICIES and [Fiscal\u00eda] in identifying corrupt actors and bringing them to justice.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMari Carmen Aponte, U.S. ambassador to El Salvador under Obama and frequent Biden campaign surrogate in Central America, weighed in on the Biden administration\u2019s potential posture toward efforts to strengthen the CICIES\u2019s mandate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe have seen how civil society has worked diligently to strengthen the CICIES-OAS,\u201d she wrote \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202101\/columnas\/25157\/A-New-Alliance-for-Salvadoran-Democracy.htm\"\u003Ein a January column in El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cI have no doubt that the newly inaugurated Biden administration will offer its determined support for this and similar efforts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFor some senior U.S. officials, though, doubts about the commission linger. In an \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202101\/internacionales\/25184\/%E2%80%9CA-Leader-Unready-to-Go-after-Corruption-Won\"\u003Einterview with El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E, senior Biden advisor Juan S. Gonz\u00e1lez voiced the administration\u2019s preference for a regional commission and expressed uncertainty about the CICIES\u2019s effectiveness thus far. \u201cI don\u2019t know how effective it\u2019s been,\u201d he said of the commission, while warning that \u201ca leader unready to go after corruption won't be a U.S. ally.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBullock expects the overall uptick in United States support for the CICIES under the Biden administration to force the hand of both President Bukele and El Salvador\u2019s political parties. Curbing corruption \u201cwas Nayib Bukele\u2019s chief electoral mandate when he took office, and now the political class must decide how to respond to the proposal.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGiving the CICIES Teeth\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEl Salvador\u2019s international anti-corruption commission lives in the shadow of two similar, yet much more forceful regional predecessors: the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe work of these now-defunct commissions severely rankled the countries\u2019 respective political classes as they looked into, for example, the family dealings of former Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales. Upon literally abandoning his office out the back door on his last day in 2019, Morales \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202002\/internacionales\/23995\/Giammattei-Begins-Term-Alongside-Allies-of-Jimmy-Morales.htm\"\u003Enarrowly dodged national prosecutors\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 and angry egg-wielding protestors \u2014 by climbing over parking lot trash bags as he rushed to his swearing-in to the Central American Parliament. Evidence collected in CICIG investigations \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202007\/internacionales\/24641\/Appointing-Judges-in-Guatemala%E2%80%A6From-Prison.htm\"\u003Esent his predecessor, Otto P\u00e9rez Molina, to prison\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDespite these advances, political elites regrouped and struck back by hamstringing their activities by, for example, revoking the visa of the CICIG\u2019s Colombian commissioner, and eventually disbanding the commissions by refusing to renew their mandates. The Trump administration consistently diverted its gaze from the subterfuge in exchange for the governments\u2019 cooperation in slowing immigration to the United States.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EObservers in El Salvador witnessed the CICIG and MACCIH collapse, yet held out hope for a Salvadoran commission that would learn from the vulnerabilities and absorb the strengths of its regional predecessors, according to Noah Bullock of Cristosal.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat core idea, of an independent CICIES, gained ground during the government\u2019s pandemic response. From the commission\u2019s inception through the first several months of the pandemic, while \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202009\/el_salvador\/24796\/Series-of-Corruption-Allegations-Stains-El-Salvador%E2%80%99s-Promise-%E2%80%94-What-Political-Impact-Will-It-Have.htm?utm_source=DB+El+Faro+_English&utm_campaign=04d8f5ff05-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_22_01_08_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec9190c89-04d8f5ff05-59351455\"\u003Ewidespread reports of official corruption in the emergency response\u003C\/a\u003E were surfacing in the Salvadoran press, little was known about its internal operations. The work that the presidency and the Fiscal\u00eda \u2014 the only two entities to sign cooperation agreements with the commission \u2014 had asked it to conduct was also unknown, raising questions as to whether the commission was a truly independent, nonpartisan investigator.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThose question marks have persisted. \u201cWe know very little about the inner workings of the CICIES: its membership, their criteria for selecting cases, which of these cases have gone to court (none, to our knowledge) or if they\u2019re working on more institutional matters such as proposed reforms,\u201d said Arteaga of the Due Process of Law Foundation. \u201cThere are almost no channels for communication about the progress of their work.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBehind the scenes in the early stages of the pandemic, the CICIES obtained privileged access to internal documents on emergency transactions from government ministries, indicating a clear level of goodwill from the Bukele administration. Meanwhile, the administration \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elsalvador.com\/noticias\/nacional\/gobierno-elimina-compras-realizadas-sitio-web-comprasal\/740839\/2020\/\"\u003Edeleted\u003C\/a\u003E publicly-available expenditure records, \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202008\/el_salvador\/24718\/Gobierno-define-el-rumbo-de-$959-millones-pero-bloquea-al-nuevo-Comit%C3%A9-auditor.htm\"\u003Erebuffed\u003C\/a\u003E audits from the Legislative Assembly, and temporarily \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202004\/el_salvador\/24237\/El-Gobierno-tambi%C3%A9n-puso-en-cuarentena-el-acceso-a-la-informaci%C3%B3n-p%C3%BAblica.htm\"\u003Eclosed\u003C\/a\u003E the offices of the Institute for Access to Public Information, the organization tasked with responding to freedom-of-information requests.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe want to see results,\u201d Roberto Rubio, director of Funde, \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202009\/el_salvador\/24796\/Series-of-Corruption-Allegations-Stains-El-Salvador%E2%80%99s-Promise-%E2%80%94-What-Political-Impact-Will-It-Have.htm?utm_source=DB+El+Faro+_English&utm_campaign=04d8f5ff05-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_22_01_08_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec9190c89-04d8f5ff05-59351455\"\u003Etold El Faro\u003C\/a\u003E in early September. \u201cIf the CICIES only exposes cases from the past, as we\u2019ve seen the Attorney General do, well, it\u2019s easy to stand up to those no longer in power. But facing those in power is more difficult, and a test of true independence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThen, in early November, a breaking point.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn November 10, the Fiscal\u00eda carried out a raid on the facilities of the Ministry of Health to collect internal documents on pandemic-related spending which the administration had refused to turn over to special auditors from the Legislative Assembly. At the time of the raid, Melara publicly claimed the commission had played a key role.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThis process was based on evidence the CICIES provided to the Fiscal\u00eda,\u201d Melara \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ltyIOXLHfTM\"\u003Etold Frente a Frente\u003C\/a\u003E, a popular Salvadoran interview television show, the day after the raid. \u201cRemember that the CICIES has been auditing the whole process of contract procurement and public budgeting relating to the pandemic, and when they found irregularities they informed the Fiscal\u00eda to open an investigation. There has been other evidence, but basically, the CICIES provided the strongest evidence.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs the raid was in progress, the chief of the National Civil Police (PNC) openly obstructed the raid by ordering officers to bar the lead prosecutor\u2019s access to Ministry of Health facilities. It was a clear sign of rising tensions between PNC leadership, which has grown closer to President Bukele, and the Fiscal\u00eda. In theory, the PNC, among other duties, collects evidence for the Fiscal\u00eda to assess and determine whether to press criminal charges. In collecting evidence on corruption in the Ministry of Health, the CICIES picked up where the PNC fell short.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIts ability to collect that evidence from government ministries, though, was conditioned entirely on the goodwill of the Salvadoran executive branch, which oversees the ministries. It\u2019s currently unclear how the relationship between the commission and the executive has changed since the raid, but proponents of the CICIES bill argue that securing a legal requirement forcing government offices to cooperate with the commission will be vital to its future work, particularly given the possibility of a new legislature dominated by a single party, Nuevas Ideas, which is closely managed by the president.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ELegislative elections are scheduled for February 28, and the new Legislative Assembly will take office on May 1. The new legislature, whatever its composition, will elect an attorney general to replace Melara, who \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gG34EThlOpU\"\u003Etold Frente a Frente\u003C\/a\u003E last July that he won\u2019t run for reelection for another three-year term in December of this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMelara is in favor of the Legislative Assembly\u2019s passage of the new CICIES law, he told El Faro, \u201cas long as it stays within the constitutional and legal framework.\u201d He cautioned, though, that \u201cwe cannot put all of our faith in an international entity with a limited mandate.\u201d He called for an increased budget and more personnel to strengthen his office\u2019s work and reforms to the Fiscal\u00eda's organic law, both of which the Assembly has not approved. \u201cAll international cooperation is welcome and will be honored. The CICIES is currently offering its assistance, but in the end, domestic institutions are here to stay and should be strengthened.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ECICIES commissioner Ronalth Ochaeta also acknowledged the proposal to expand the commission's mandate. \u201cWe are paying close attention to developments in the process and the probable outcome,\u201d he told El Faro. \u201cIdeally, [the bill] would have the broadest consensus possible \u2014 not only in the Legislative Assembly, but also the Fiscal\u00eda, Supreme Court of Justice, the Executive, and the OAS Secretary General.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Narrow Path to Ratification\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ECivic organizations cannot propose laws on their own; for that, they need political support from a member of the legislature, courts, or the president. Mario Ponce, president of the Legislative Assembly and deputy for the National Conciliation Party (PCN), presented the law to the Legislative Assembly on February 3 alongside Margarita Escobar, deputy for the Republican Nationalist Alliance (Arena).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOn Monday, February 15, the Legislative Assembly\u2019s Commission on Politics, similar to a U.S. congressional committee, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AsambleaSV\/status\/1361344458311270410\"\u003Easked the Assembly\u2019s executive committee to establish an ad hoc commission\u003C\/a\u003E with the sole purpose of studying the proposed bill. During the commission stage, language can be modified to the liking of committee members.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIf the commission approves the bill, then passage of the law will hinge on the coalition\u2019s ability to wrangle 43 of 84 Assembly votes and a presidential signature. Should Bukele send the bill back, 56 votes \u2014 a supermajority \u2014 could override the veto and effectively remake the last standing international anti-corruption commission in Central America.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThis is a completely apolitical initiative,\u201d said Gilberto Calder\u00f3n, of Azul Originario, at a Wednesday press conference announcing the presentation of the bill to the Legislative Assembly. \u201cWe\u2019ve sought the involvement of all parliamentary groups represented in the Legislative Assembly, the Government of El Salvador, think tanks, civic organizations, and churches of various denominations,\u201d he noted, adding that interested parties may still join.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe call to participate across the political spectrum is no minor detail in a country that has suffered years of violent polarization.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBullock argues that the claim that the fight against corruption has been politicized \u2014 the idea that the commission would discriminate in its investigations \u2014 \u201chas been a major impediment to impartial, robust investigations.\u201d The decision to strengthen the CICIES, he continued, \u201cmust be taken by all the social and political sectors in the country. We wanted to spark that debate now, so that it doesn\u2019t get absorbed by one political faction.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn the current Legislative Assembly\u2019s floor map, the bill\u2019s most vocal support has thus far come from the Assembly\u2019s ideological right wing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EArena deputies \u2014 there are 35 in the current Assembly \u2014 have been some of the most vocal proponents of the new CICIES bill. Arena is El Salvador\u2019s most dominant right-wing party, founded by hardline military officers during the civil war. During its almost two decades of rule following the 1992 Peace Accords, one president \u2014 Antonio Saca, who governed from 2004 to 2009 \u2014 \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/201809\/el_salvador\/22447\/El-%C3%BAltimo-presidente-de-Arena-es-el-primero-condenado-por-corrupci%C3%B3n.htm\"\u003Ewound up in prison for embezzlement and money laundering\u003C\/a\u003E. His Arena predecessor, Francisco Flores, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.elfaro.net\/es\/201601\/el_salvador\/17934\/Muere-Francisco-Flores-presidente-de-El-Salvador-entre-1999-y-2004.htm\"\u003Edied while on trial\u003C\/a\u003E for embezzlement.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EToday\u2019s Arena, which lost the presidency to its left-wing political rival, the FMLN, in 2009, is billing itself as repentant for its past sins of corruption, even as Bukele and his party, Nuevas Ideas, insist that Arena is largely responsible for the country\u2019s political and social woes. Many independent political analysts agree. Perhaps as part of that image makeover, Carlos Reyes, deputy in the Assembly and chief of Arena\u2019s legislative bloc, went on the record about the party\u2019s intentions with the newly-proposed CICIES bill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe would support a CICIES clearly defined in law,\u201d he told El Faro. When asked if he would support corruption investigations into his own party members under a new CICIES law, he affirmed, \u201cWe have to support the fight against corruption regardless of who is doing it.\u201d Arena deputy Margarita Escobar has also vocally supported the bill, and proponents are expecting broad support from Arena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOf the political parties who shared their position on the proposal with El Faro, one of the most forceful proponents has been the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), the right-wing party whose sole president, Napole\u00f3n Duarte (1984 to 1989), was the first civilian to take office following the military juntas during the civil war. On August 20, 2019, the PDC proposed its own version of an international anti-corruption commission. While leaders of PDC, which holds three seats, have not finished fully analyzing the current proposal nor taken a final stance, they left no doubt as to their overarching intentions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe consider it essential for the CICIES to be totally separate from the executive,\u201d said Rodolfo Parker, chief of the PDC legislative bloc. \u201cThat is the cornerstone of our support.\u201d The CICIES would also have to preserve strict financial and operational autonomy from all other government entities, maintain a working and constitutionally-sound relationship with the Fiscal\u00eda, and create avenues for clear and profound civic involvement. On these grounds, he concluded, the party would agree to \u201cnot only give our vote, but also help improve, reaffirm, and push the bill forward as soon as possible.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202102\/el_salvador\/25206\/Gana-repite-su-apuesta-ser-la-llave-legislativa-del-m%C3%A1s-fuerte.htm\"\u003Ea party of aisle-crossing politicians\u003C\/a\u003E who broke away from Arena following the election of Funes and on whose ticket Bukele won the presidency before defecting to create Nuevas Ideas, turned down multiple written and in-person requests for comment. The Office of the President likewise declined to comment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs for the Farabundo Mart\u00ed National Liberation Front (FMLN), the left-wing guerrilla movement-turned-political party which held the presidency from 2009 up until the election of Nayib Bukele, party leadership struck a different tone. While they declined to take a firm stance on the bill due to ongoing internal deliberations, Nidia D\u00edaz, head of the Frente\u2019s legislative bloc, expressed skepticism.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe have always opposed a CICIES that is above the Fiscal\u00eda,\u201d she told El Faro on the day the CICIES bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly, adding that the commission \u201ccannot have a hierarchy that places it above any other branch of government or law.\u201d While the Frente has expressed past support for the CICIES as a technical advisor, she noted that party leaders are deeply skeptical of granting an international commission independent investigative and prosecutorial powers and, instead, prefer to \u201cstrengthen the Fiscal\u00eda'' via increased budgets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EFormer president Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) made a similar argument while backtracking on his support for a similar anti-corruption commission in 2010. \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mauricio-funes.elfaro.net\/las-pruebas-de-como-funes-derrocho-dinero-publico\"\u003EFacing embezzlement charges of his own\u003C\/a\u003E, Funes fled El Salvador in 2015 for Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega granted him asylum.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe upcoming elections help explain the timing of the proposal and form the subtext of the parties\u2019 responses. The most reliable and updated national polling shows that Bukele\u2019s party, Nuevas Ideas, stands to consolidate a commanding \u2014 and potentially single-party \u2014 grip on the Legislative Assembly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWhen considered alongside the deep-seated and generalized contempt for the traditional political class that predates Bukele\u2019s presidency, polling conducted in late November by the Institute of Public Opinion at Central American University (IUDOP), showed 70 percent of respondents reported at least some confidence in Nuevas Ideas as a party. The next-closest party, GANA, registered 30 percent confidence.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe other eight parties mentioned in the polling trailed far behind\u2014each under 15 percent. On these grounds, Nuevas Ideas stands to take a commanding lead in the Legislative Assembly, and together with GANA, Bukele\u2019s legislative coalition could very well approach a supermajority of 56 out of 84 seats in the Assembly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAs for Arena and the FMLN, the two poles in Salvadoran politics for the three decades since the end of the civil war, the parties may be\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/elfaro.us19.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=a822abdb775cca5db840e11e5&id=61c1aaabb4&e=cee329e6af\"\u003E on the verge of fading into political irrelevance\u003C\/a\u003E. The minority parties are under similar existential strain to adapt to the Nuevas Ideas phenomenon. Strengthening the CICIES has thus become less a political exercise in self-regulation for El Salvador\u2019s traditional parties, and more a test of their willingness to strengthen institutional checks against the future protagonists of Salvadoran politics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EArteaga summed up what the civic organizations see as the current stakes, and the urgency of approving the reforms before the new legislature takes office in May: \u201cIf the Assembly changes in favor of the [Bukele] administration, we doubt they will be interested in creating a legally robust, independent CICIES with civic participation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp style=\"text-align: right;\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E*With additional reporting from Roxana Lazo\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E"}