El Salvador’s ruling party took control of the top court and replaced the attorney general in a move criticized by the Biden administration and human rights groups, which warned it may sour relations with Washington and the International Monetary Fund.
President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party used Saturday’s first meeting of a new legislative session to replace five magistrates from the court’s constitutional chamber, and to fire the attorney general. New judges took office immediately. Rodolfo Delgado was named attorney general, replacing Raul Melara.
“And the Salvadoran people, through their representatives, said FIRED,” Bukele wrote on Twitter. He later wrote that he was “extremely pleased” with the legislative session.
Bukele, a social-media savvy 39-year-old who won office in 2019, has consolidated his control of the Central American country, with the party he founded and its allies taking control of the congress in a landslide win during March elections.
Business groups, international organizations and members of President Joe Biden’s administration were quick to criticize the sackings, which took place late Saturday after a marathon legislative session.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bukele by phone on Sunday, said spokesman Ned Price, to express “the U.S. government’s grave concern” over the magistrates’ removal.
Blinken also raised U.S. concern with Bukele over the removal of Melara, “who’s fighting corruption and impunity, and is an effective partner of efforts to combat crime in both the United States and El Salvador,” Price said.
The actions come at a key moment for El Salvador, which is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund on a potential extended fund facility.
Human Rights Watch’s executive director of the Americas Division called it an “autocratic move” in a tweet. “We will make every effort for this assault on democracy to affect the relationship with the US government, the World Bank, the IMF and the Inter-American Bank,” Jose Miguel Vivanco wrote.
