Disagreements Between Branches of Government are Failing to Deal with the Pandemic in El Salvador By: Cristina Castillo

Disagreements Between Branches of Government are Failing to Deal with the Pandemic in El Salvador

Deputies in an argumentative meeting, Aug. 1^st, 2020.

There are four months left for the end of the year, and we are still figuring out the best methods to deal with this pandemic that has been the main focus of 2020. As many countries continue to reopen the economy, El Salvador continues in Phase 1 of reopening the economy. Since President Nayib Bukele postponed Phase 2 of the reopening, there was no official starting date. Nevertheless, Phase 2 expected to start mid-August if confirmed cases decreased. Unfortunately, cases of Covid-19 in El Salvador continue to increase exponentially. At the same time, the President and Senate don’t agree as to how to proceed.

“Accumulated Confirmed Cases” Graph show the continuous growth or confirmed cases since its initial case from March 18^th till August 8^th. Source: https://covid19.gob.sv/

El Salvador had an opportunity to approve a loan of 250 million dollars from the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) to help fight the pandemic. However, President Nayib Bukele and the Senate failed to approve the loan by the deadline, which was by the end of July. How is it that Bukele and the Senate could not approve a loan that would benefit the people? It is quite simple to answer this question.  Both Congress and Bukele have been in disagreement on how to deal with the crisis since the start of the pandemic. Consequently, they failed to agree as to where the money would be invested. Before Bukele came to the Presidency, there was a rivalry with the diplomats in the Senate. Nayib Bukele won elections as a Third-Party candidate, instead of the two major political parties that rule in the Senate.

This tremendous division between the Senate and Bukele has made it difficult to succeed in continuing to reopen the economy. El Salvador had been far too long on Phase 1. There wasn’t any set date to proceed to Phase 2, which made it seem like the President wanted to maintain in Phase 1 as long as he saw fit to continue. Due to this, the Supreme Court has stated the five phases of reopening the economy are unconstitutional. Since Bukele and the Senate cannot reach any agreements, there will not be any gradual phases of reopening the economy. Nayib Bukele’s last and only legal step left is to postpone Phase 2 until August 24th because, after August 23rd, all executive degrees are expelled by judicial order. On August 24th El Salvador will fully open the economy without regulations or protocols.

Before this pandemic, and Bukele entering the Presidency, it was clear there was going to be a tremendous division during Bukele’s presidential term. This division has led to an inconsistent agreement and priorities in this crisis. El Salvador is not prepared to reopen the economy fully. There are more confirmed cases every day, the public health system is collapsing, and hospitals will not have enough beds for those infected. However, people are also starving, especially those in poverty, and need a fully functioning economy to do their labor. Will Bukele and the Senate ever come to an agreement? Probably not, at least not until the election next February for candidates in the National Assembly. The only thing certain is that despite this fall back on handling the crisis, there is hope, this crisis will create an opening to change this third world country in the near future.

Sources:

“19 Gobierno De El Salvador.” COVID, covid19.gob.sv/.

Aleman, Marcos. “El Salvador Political Stalemate a Drag on Pandemic Response.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 8 Aug. 2020, apnews.com/eaf1d6e2b82f763456b577ee00318aea.

Bukele, Nayib. Ultimo Paso Legal. Facebook, 8 Aug. 2020, 7:00pm., https://www.facebook.com/nayibbukele/posts/3131004306985739. Accessed: 8 August 2020

Bukele, Nayib. Nuestro País Perdio El Préstamo Del BID. Facebook, 1 Aug. 2020., https://www.facebook.com/nayibbukele/posts/3109097422509761. Accessed: 8 August 2020

Patricio, Miguel. “How El Salvador’s Virus Fight Became a Disaster.” CNS, Courthouse News Service, 31 July 2020, www.courthousenews.com/how-el-salvadors-virus-fight-became-a-disaster/.

“Politics Scuppers El Salvador Deal for $250 Million IDB Loan.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 1 Aug. 2020, www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-08-01/politics-scuppers-el-salvador-deal-for-250-million-idb-loan.