Vox Populi, Vox Dei

It is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God, and if the system is against it, sooner or later, it will be broken by it.

   Salvadorans feel tired and betrayed by both major political parties. And because of this, El Salvador seems to be experiencing a profound change, that is likely to materialize in the next presidential elections in 2019: most of the voters do not want to give back the power to the two traditional majoritarian parties. According to a recent poll by TReasearch, the vote intention for the incumbent political party, FMLN, was only 9%, while 35% said they preferred the party of the opposition, ARENA. On the other hand, 54.4% said they preferred a new political party in formation, Nuevas Ideas.  This new political party in formation was able to fulfill all the requirements in order to be legalized and compete for the next presidential race. One of the requirements for the formation of any new political party, according to the Salvadoran law, is to present 50,000 signatures from the population. Nuevas Ideas launched a very successful campaign, and got 200,000 signatures in only three days. This is something unprecedented.  

   However, Nuevas Ideas encountered a huge opposition to its legalization. First of all, there were elections for local governments and senators in March, and according to the law, a movement that wants to become a political party is not able to present all the paperwork while the Supreme Electoral Tribunal is still counting the votes. In most of the countries, the final results of any election are presented the same day of within a few days. The Salvadoran Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE by its acronym in Spanish) took a whole month to publish the final results of the election, and this prevented Nuevas Ideas to begin the legalization process before. As soon as the TSE published the final results, Nuevas ideas submitted the required documentation. After this, the TSE had 60 days to process all the signatures and the rest of the requirements. And even though they could have done so in less time, just like they have done with other political parties, they decided to take all the time in the world. The reason? It was in nobody’s interest that this political party was officially legalized in time so that they could participate in the presidential elections in 2019. If the TSE used the 60 days, this could also prevent Nuevas Ideas to organize primary elections to choose the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. And therefore, there was no way Nuevas Ideas could participate.

    Right after the deadline, the TSE published that the requirements were totally fulfilled by Nuevas Ideas, and that at that moment, any person or entity could formally present their opposition to the legalization of the party. And as expected, there was somebody who did not want Nuevas Ideas to be legalized. A (very questioned) lawyer presented a demand before the TSE arguing that the party could not be legalized because he had presented a request to patent the name Nuevas Ideas, which is the same name of the political party in formation. To this date, Nuevas Ideas has not been legalized, and it has become more than obvious to the whole population that the system is trying to block the participation of Nuevas Ideas in the political life of the country, even if they have to use the state institutions to prevent it. As a response, Nayib Bukele, Nuevas Ideas’ presidential candidate, decided to make a coalition and register himself as a presidential candidate in an already existing small political party, with which he had previously formed a coalition that allowed him to win the election as a Mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlan city back in 2012.

    This small political party, Cambio Democratico (CD), participated in the elections of 2015 and did not get the 50,000 votes necessary to continue alive. However, a resolution by the TSE at that time opted for not to cancel the party arguing that the political plurality of the country depended on the existence political parties in that situation. This allowed CD to participate in the elections of 2018 where they gained one senator. According to the law, a political party cannot be canceled if they have at least one senator. However, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice ordered the TSE to revise their decision, even though, legally, they had only 15 days to say something about it back in 2015. As part of the system, that does not want Bukele in the presidency, they violated this timing, and the TSE, also violating the law, canceled the CD. CD is still legally appealing against this decision, while it became clear to the population that the system was trying to block Bukele’s participation and that the cancellation of the CD was only part of this. Needless to say that both institutions have members who respond to the interests of the two major political parties.

    Again, the TSE took until the last day of the deadline to cancel CD, so that Bukele would not have any other option to participate in the presidential race. On the other hand, Bukele had a backup plan, and the same day, he quit as presidential candidate of the CD, and registered himself in another political party already performing in the political life, GANA. Nobody saw this coming, and therefore, there was no way to stop it. And so, Bukele is about to run for the presidential candidacy in the primaries of GANA. The Salvadoran population has supported Bukele since the beginning, and they also supported Bukele going for a different political party because the aim is one, and one only: not to give back the power to the two major political parties that have governed El Salvador for 30 years and who have become rich at the expense of the people. According to a poll by TReasearch, 85% of the people support this new coalition between Nuevas Ideas and GANA. Furthermore, 75% of the people feel that the cancellation of the CD was unfair, while 96% perceived that this decision had by aim to prevent Bukele’s presidential candidacy.

    More obstacles are expected on Bukele’s way to the presidency, but first, he must win the primaries in his new political party. It is clear for Salvadorans that the political system is rigged and that it will not allow the people to vote for whom they want, as it would be the case in a full democracy. As a response, Salvadorans are fighting the whole system by supporting Bukele on his way to the presidency, trusting his promise of cleansing the system if he is given the chance to do so. It is said that the voice of the people is the voice of God, and if the system is against it, sooner or later, it will be broken by it.

Dott.ssa Ana Figueroa