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1 1 (October 1, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govegcj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: a' Congressional '. Research Service El Salvador: Authoritarian Actions and U.S. Response Updated October 1, 2021 On September 3, 2021, the Salvadoran Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber ruled that a president could serve two consecutive terms, despite constitutional prohibitions on reelection. The justices who issued the ruling were installed in May 2021 after the Salvadoran National Assembly, aligned with President Nayib Bukele, unconstitutionally dismissed the previous Constitutional Court magistrates, along with the attorney general. These developments, combined with other Bukele-backed measures to erode the separation of powers and repress dissent, have led the Biden Administration, some Members of Congress, and other observers to express concerns about democratic backsliding in El Salvador. Democratic Backsliding On June 1, 2019, Bukele, a businessperson and former mayor of San Salvador, took office for a five-year presidential term after winning a first-round victory as an outsider standing for the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) party. His New Ideas party was not yet eligible to field candidates. Born in 1981, Bukele is the first president to come of age politically after the 1980-1992 civil conflict and the first presidential candidate in 30 years to win without support from the conservative National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party or the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) party. Bukele has governed as a populist, using social media to communicate with supporters, make policy declarations, purge officials, and attack opponents. Through 2020, Bukele battled with the legislature and the Supreme Court over funds he sought for his security plan and his aggressive enforcement of a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic quarantine. In February 2020, Bukele ordered the military to surround the National Assembly in an effort to intimidate legislators into approving an anti- crime bill. He ignored and criticized Supreme Court rulings for him to respect constitutional rights and legislative decisions during the pandemic. Although Bukele remained popular, critics warned about his authoritarian tendencies and possible ties to organized crime. In February 2021, New Ideas and its allies won a supermajority in parliamentary elections. Legislature Removing Checks on Presidential Power On May 1, 2021, the National Assembly deputies elected in February took office. Unlike the outgoing legislature, the 84-seat National Assembly is dominated by Bukele's New Ideas (56 seats) and allied Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11658 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Membersand Committeesof Congress

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