Salvadoran President Disobeys Supreme Court Rulings

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador has taken measures during the pandemic that courts and human rights organizations have criticized as illegal and extreme.

(Picture Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on April 16 that he would not comply with a ruling issued by the country’s Supreme Court that struck down his quarantine order. The announcement, which was Bukele’s third in 10 days, came just a day after the court’s third order of compliance. 

El Salvador’s Supreme Court previously issued rulings on March 26 and April 8 that the president and national police forces did not have the constitutional authority to hold citizens in detention centers or police stations for violating the national stay-at-home order. The legal controversy stems from the original lockdown decree. To limit the spread of COVID-19, Bukele issued an executive order on March 21 mandating that all Salvadorans stay at home or be held at a “sanitary detention center.” Security forces have already detained more than 2000 citizens as a result of this measure. The decree also allows police to seize the vehicles of those who violate the quarantine and enter people’s houses to force them to stay inside. But the Supreme Court says that such provisions have no legal basis unless the Legislative Assembly first passes a law to regulate citizens’ mobility. 

Bukele responded via a series of Tweets, stating that he would not allow “five people to decide the deaths of hundreds.” He also implied that the court’s decision itself was unconstitutional.

“I swore that I would comply and fulfill the constitution… just as I would not abide by a resolution ordering me to kill Salvadorans, I also cannot abide by a resolution ordering me to let them die,” said Bukele. 

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based NGO, denounced the “draconian” measures of Bukele’s order, saying that they likely “emboldened abusive law enforcement” throughout the country. The group also called on the Organization of American States to investigate and take action against the alleged abuses of the Salvadoran government. Among these abuses, according to the group, are various videos that show the police physically arresting essential workers (who are supposed to be protected by the decree) and attacking citizens who do not comply with the order.  HRW pointed to a lack of food, water, sleeping space, and medical treatment in the detention facilities as evidence that the measures represent a failure of governance. The NGO  had previously criticized Bukele when he broke into the Legislative Assembly with armed guards to ensure the passage of a key anti-gangs bill.

In response to the constitutional dilemma, the Legislative Assembly voted to approve a bill that would extend the quarantine while also providing for the protection of fundamental rights during the pandemic. The new regulations, if they take effect, would allow police to detain anyone who “objectively or reasonably” displays symptoms of COVID-19. However, the law stipulates that the Ministry of Health must test all detained people within 12 hours of their arrest and return the results within 48 hours. Only those with a positive result will continue to be held in a hospital or sanitary detention center; all others should quarantine at home. A final provision of the law also repeals sections of Bukele’s executive order that allowed police to seize vehicles and set curfews.

Bukele announced that he will veto the law because he believes it strips his ability to fight the pandemic. Moreover, he stressed that his original stay-at-home order remains “in its entirety.”