{"code":"26381","sect":"El Salvador","sect_slug":"el-salvador","hits":"1624","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202209\/el_salvador\/26381","link_edit":"","name":"Bukele Announces He Will Seek Reelection in 2024 despite Constitutional Ban","slug":"bukele-announces-he-will-seek-reelection-in-2024-despite-constitutional-ban","info":"El Salvador, in Brief: Last night, in a televised broadcast on the country's 201st anniversary of independence, Nayib Bukele announced his candidature for the 2024 presidential election despite multiple explicit prohibitions on consecutive reelection in the Salvadoran constitution. Subscribe to our newsletter","mtag":"Newsletter","noun":{"html":"\u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/rgressier'\u003E Roman Gressier\u003C\/span\u003E y \u003Cspan class='tint-text--dark' data_href='\/user\/profile\/jlsanz'\u003E Jos\u00e9 Luis Sanz\u003C\/span\u003E","data":{"roman-gressier":{"sort":"rgressier","slug":"roman-gressier","path":"roman_gressier","name":"Roman Gressier","edge":"0","init":"0"},"jose-luis-sanz":{"sort":"jlsanz","slug":"jose-luis-sanz","path":"jose_luis_sanz","name":"Jos\u00e9 Luis Sanz","edge":"1","init":"0"}}},"view":"1624","pict":{"cms-image-000037411-jpg":{"feat":"1","sort":"37411","name":"cms-image-000037411.JPG","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037411.JPG","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000037411.JPG","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000037411-jpg","text":"<p>El lunes 4 de abril, en medio del R\u00e9gimen de Excepci\u00f3n, el presidente Bukele, junto al ministro de Defensa, jurament\u00f3 a 1,450 nuevos miembros de la Fuerza Armada, en la cancha de f\u00fatbol de la Escuela Militar, en Antiguo Cuscatl\u00e1n, La Libertad. En esa misma actividad, Bukele acus\u00f3 a las ONGs de no velar por los derechos humanos, sino estar en contra de ellos, y tambi\u00e9n acus\u00f3 a la comunidad internacional de lucrarse del ba\u00f1o de sangre que provocan las pandillas en El Salvador. Foto de El Faro: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a.<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EEl lunes 4 de abril, en medio del R\u00e9gimen de Excepci\u00f3n, el presidente Bukele, junto al ministro de Defensa, jurament\u00f3 a 1,450 nuevos miembros de la Fuerza Armada, en la cancha de f\u00fatbol de la Escuela Militar, en Antiguo Cuscatl\u00e1n, La Libertad. En esa misma actividad, Bukele acus\u00f3 a las ONGs de no velar por los derechos humanos, sino estar en contra de ellos, y tambi\u00e9n acus\u00f3 a la comunidad internacional de lucrarse del ba\u00f1o de sangre que provocan las pandillas en El Salvador. Foto de El Faro: V\u00edctor Pe\u00f1a.\u003C\/p\u003E"},"cms-image-000038006-jpg":{"feat":"0","sort":"38006","name":"cms-image-000038006.jpg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038006.jpg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038006.jpg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038006-jpg","text":"<p>Dozens of supporters receive Nayib Bukele at a San Salvador polling station on Feb. 28, 2021, the day of the legislative and municipal elections in which his party, Nuevas Ideas, won a super-majority in the Legisaltive Assembly through 2024. Phot: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro<\/p>","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EDozens of supporters receive Nayib Bukele at a San Salvador polling station on Feb. 28, 2021, the day of the legislative and municipal elections in which his party, Nuevas Ideas, won a super-majority in the Legisaltive Assembly through 2024. Phot: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":37411,"date":{"live":"2022\/09\/16"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2022","data_post_dateLive_MM":"09","data_post_dateLive_DD":"16","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cThe constitution doesn\u2019t allow the same person to be president twice in a row. They can be president 80 times, if they\u2019d like, but not in a row.\u201d Those aren\u2019t the words of the Salvadoran opposition, but of \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ruth_Lopez1977\/status\/1434146708544540675?s=20&t=VSC4yMEFszurA6vNkV94pQ\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003EPresident Nayib Bukele himself\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, in a 2013 television interview.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOver three years into his presidency, he has announced he will seek to do just that: hold executive office for consecutive terms, at least through 2029.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cI\u2019d like to announce to the Salvadoran people that I\u2019ve decided to run as a candidate for the presidency of the republic,\" said the head of state.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe made the announcement in a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nayibbukele\/videos\/1772589829755686\/\"\u003Etelevised broadcast\u003C\/a\u003E on September 15, El Salvador\u2019s 201st anniversary of independence. He has attempted to rebrand the date as marking the country\u2019s \u201ctrue independence,\u201d a reference to his insistence that the United States and others in the international community are working to impose agendas on his government.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIt was an \u003Cstrong\u003Eopen secret that Bukele has planned to seek reelection\u003C\/strong\u003E. His allies have been calling for it constantly for the past year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWe charted our own destiny and didn\u2019t obey the international dictates,\u201d the president said in last night\u2019s speech. \u201cEl Salvador is now making its own decisions. That\u2019s been made clear to all.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe constitution prohibits immediate reelection in three separate articles. \u201cThe presidential period shall be of five years...without the person who exercised the Presidency able to continue in their functions one day more,\u201d says article 154.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EArticle 248 expressly prohibits amendments to \u201calternation in the exercise of the presidency of the Republic.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EArticle 88 says: \u201cThe principle of alternation in the office of the Presidency of the Republic is indispensable for the maintenance of the established form of government and political system. Violation of this norm makes insurrection an obligation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cWhy can't we copy countries where things are going well? Reelections are prohibited in third-world countries. What a coincidence,\u201d said Bukele in his announcement speech. \u201cThe people should have the right to reject or approve of the course it is on,\u201d he added. \u201cWhy discard the path if it\u2019s working?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u201cWill of the people\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EDespite the prohibition, Constitutional Chamber magistrates illegally instated at Bukele\u2019s order in May, 2021, at Bukele\u2019s order, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.jurisprudencia.gob.sv\/portal\/apls\/2021\/09\/1-2021PerdidaDerechosCiudadania.pdf\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eruled in September, 2021\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, in favor of his reelection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe court argued that \u201ctying down the will of the people to a text that answered to needs, context, or circumstances from 20, 30, or 40 years ago is no longer a rights-based interpretation, but rather an excessive restriction disguised as legal certainty.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThat argument, that barring presidential reelection infringes on the rights of the public, comes close to the one used by the Honduran Supreme Court of Justice in clearing the way for the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/elfaro.net\/el-faro-english-bukele-pushes-constitutional-rewrite-6213220?e=3e101df639\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eillegal 2017 reelection\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E of Juan Orlando Hern\u00e1ndez.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe Supreme Electoral Tribunal also \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TSEElSalvador\/status\/1434162513688600578\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eannounced last year\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E that it would uphold the decision permitting Bukele to run for reelection, \u201cshould the president want to do so.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E \u003Cfigure class=\"pict pict_land pict_move_posc 0 cs_img cs_img--curr rule--ss_c\" data-shot=\"pict\" data-hint=\"pict\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"pict__pobj text-overflow\"\u003E\u003Cimg src=https:\/\/elfaro.net\/get_img?ImageWidth=3000&ImageHeight=2000&ImageId=38006 class=\"pobj\" style=\"max-width: 100%\" rel=\"resizable\" alt=\"Dozens of supporters receive Nayib Bukele at a San Salvador polling station on Feb. 28, 2021, the day of the legislative and municipal elections in which his party, Nuevas Ideas, won a super-majority in the Legisaltive Assembly through 2024. Phot: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro\" \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E \u003Cfigcaption class=\"pict__text cs_img_caption folk_content typo_buttons line--ss_s0c line--ss_s0c--auto block full-width text-overflow rule--ss_l relative\"\u003E \u003Cdiv class=\"__content block-inline full-width align-top tint-text--idle relative\"\u003E Dozens of supporters receive Nayib Bukele at a San Salvador polling station on Feb. 28, 2021, the day of the legislative and municipal elections in which his party, Nuevas Ideas, won a super-majority in the Legisaltive Assembly through 2024. Phot: Carlos Barrera\/El Faro \u003Cdiv class=\"photographer text_italic rule--ss_l tint-text--idle\"\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/div\u003E \u003C\/figcaption\u003E \u003C\/figure\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cIf he registers as a candidate, a crude electoral fraud will be consummated,\u201d \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarineroJose\/status\/1570604847858323456?s=20&t=VSC4yMEFszurA6vNkV94pQ\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Etweeted\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Salvadoran constitutional expert Jos\u00e9 Marinero on Thursday, \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MarineroJose\/status\/1570616318164094982?s=20&t=VSC4yMEFszurA6vNkV94pQ\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eadding\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, \u201cWithout checks on political power, the announcement of a reelection bid is really a declaration: \u2018I\u2019m staying in power because I want to and because I can.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThree years into his term, he has maintained high levels of public support \u2014 \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/uca.edu.sv\/iudop\/wp-content\/uploads\/Infografico-3er-anio.pdf\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003E87 percent in May\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. Politicians in \u003Cstrong\u003EHonduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Chile\u003C\/strong\u003E have expressed admiration for Bukele or promised to emulate his style of governance \u2014 and, most recently, his security strategy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EU.S. condemnation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EEarlier in the day, thousands gathered in San Salvador to protest Bukele\u2019s consolidation of control over the judiciary and executive and a six-month state of exception that has suspended multiple constitutional rights and been marred by reports of \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202209\/el_salvador\/26376\/State-of-Exception-Confirms-Divide-between-US-Dems-and-GOP-over-Bukele.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Egrave human rights abuses amid mass arrests\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. It\u2019s the \u003Ca href=\"\/en\/202109\/el_salvador\/25728\/Thousands-Defy-Bukele-on-El-Salvador's-200th-Birthday.htm\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Esecond year in a row\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E for the Independence Day demonstrations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe government organized marches of soldiers and police officers, as well counter-manifestations including \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.laprensagrafica.com\/elsalvador\/FOTOS-salvadorenos-ya-estan-listos-para-disfrutar-del-desfile-de-independencia-20220915-0010.html\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Eother public sector employees\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe prohibition on reelection is part of the constitution of most Latin American countries, bearing special importance in a region that has suffered through decades of military dictatorships.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn El Salvador, the provision first appeared in 1841, was reaffirmed in 1886, 1950, 1962, and as part of the current Constitution of 1983.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe United States expressly condemned the Constitutional Chamber\u2019s decision last year, and the interim U.S. ambassador \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ElFaroEnglish\/status\/1434539449346625536?s=20\"\u003E\u003Cspan style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"\u003Ecompared\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E Bukele to Hugo Ch\u00e1vez. Amid the wait for other countries to weigh in, the State Department doesn\u2019t think the international community will view Bukele\u2019s reelection as a matter of \u201cinternal affairs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E"}