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1 1 (May 6, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedff0001 and id is 1 raw text is: SCongressional SResearch Service El Salvador: Authoritarian Actions Threaten Democracy May 6, 2021 On May 1-2, 2021, the newly seated National Assembly of El Salvador, now dominated by President Nayib Bukele's New Ideas party, dismissed the five magistrates on the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court and the attorney general and replaced them with allies of the president. Since taking office in 2019, Bukele has capitalized on the traditional parties' unpopularity to concentrate power in the executive. Some observers contend the recent dismissals occurred in retaliation for the attorney general's investigations of corruption in Bukele's Cabinet and court rulings that Bukele violated the constitution by ruling by decree during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Biden Administration officials and some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about democracy in El Salvador, which is located in the Northern Triangle region of Central America that is a primary source of unauthorized migration to the United States. Secretay of State Antony Blinken called President Bukele to express grave concern about the dismissals. Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted that the United States has deep concerns about El Salvador's democracy. Some Members of Congress have called on the Administration to consider policy responses ranging from fostering dialogue in El Salvador to conditioning international financing for the country on the Salvadoran government's respect for democratic norms. Bukele Administration and Democratic Backsliding On June 1, 2019, Nayib 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 newly formed New Ideas party had not yet qualified 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 either the conservative National Republic 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 and journalists critical of his policies. Through 2020, Bukele battled with the legislature (where GANAheld 11 of 84 seats) and the Supreme Court over funds he sought for his security plan and his aggressive enforcement of a pandemic quarantine. In February Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11658 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Membersand Committeesof Congress

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