SAN SALVADOR (AP) — El Salvador’s congress, which is controlled by the president Nayib Bukele The New Ideas party on Monday approved an amendment to an article of the constitution to allow for greater constitutional reforms without having to wait until after the election of a new legislature.
The move further consolidates power in the hands of Bukele and his party, with some critics saying it opens a possible path for the leader to remain in power.
Previously, constitutional reforms had to be proposed and approved in one legislature, and then ratified in the subsequent Congress after elections. Now reforms can be passed with just the vote of three-quarters of lawmakers.
“This is a shot in the arm for our country’s democracy. The only thing they demonstrate is the narrow interests and the ambition to hold on to power and not let it go,” said Rosa Romero of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA).
Bukele, a populist strongman, has already taken steps that critics say endanger the Central American country’s fragile democracy.
In addition to hounding critics and trapping 1% of his country’s population in his gangs’ crackdown, the leader last year also approved reforms that cut the number of seats in Congress, tilting the upcoming elections in favor of his party were weighed.
In February, the highly popular Bukele easily won a second term in his country’s presidential election, despite the constitution forbidding re-election. His party also won a supermajority in Congress, allowing Bukele to effectively govern as he pleased.
The constitutional reform would only further enable the leader to push his policies, including possibly introducing more reforms to stay in power.
In an interview with the Associated Press in January, Bukele’s vice president did not dismiss the possibility that the leader would seek a third term if the constitution were changed, after repeatedly dodging questions from reporters.
Monday’s reform quickly sparked outrage among critics and watchdogs, including Claudia Ortiz, a lawmaker under the VAMOS party who voted against the reform.
‘Do they know what they are doing? They give themselves the power. Aren’t they ashamed? I want to tell Salvadorans not to give up,” Ortiz said.
Meanwhile, Citizen Action, a non-governmental organization, said in a statement Monday that “New Ideas eliminate another political counterweight.”
The measure they abolished “aimed at preserving the constitution and protecting the population against abuse of temporary legislative majorities,” the statement said.
