Hundreds of people protest "democratic backsliding" and abuses under the state of exception in El Salvador

San Salvador.- About 200 people protested this Sunday in the capital of El Salvador against the "democratic setbacks" they attribute to the Nayib Bukele government, such as the "weakening" of institutions in charge of defending human rights, and the abuses given in the context of the state of exception. The protest, which took place on the 34th anniversary of the signing of the agreements that ended a 12-year civil war (1980-1992), marched through the main streets of San Salvador amid claims of thousands of layoffs in the public sector, pension debt, the detention of people with no gang ties, and the alleged weakening of institutions. “Today, 34 years after the signing of the Peace Accords, we are facing a deep crisis of democratic setbacks in our country, where the institutions that were created are now co-opted by the Executive,” said Sonia Urrutia, of the Bloque de Resistencia y Rebeldía Popular.

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He added that the country is about to complete four years under the exception regime, approved by Congress at the request of the Bukele government after an escalation of murders in March 2022, in which "due process is not available." He denounced that they are also "facing the persecution of trade union and human rights organizations." «There can be no peace with dignity if human rights are not respected, which is why as a social movement we demand the end of that state of exception that has caused so much damage to the poorest families in this country, as well as demanding respect for due process and constitutional guarantees», he underlined.

Detentions in the exception regime

Protesters marched several kilometers through the Salvadoran capital to reach the Historic Center, where they shouted slogans in favor of mothers defending the innocence of their detained children, they also wore shirts and carried banners with messages in favor of the environment and for the cessation of layoffs. Various humanitarian organizations have received more than 6,400 reports of human rights violations, mainly for arbitrary detentions and torture. Meanwhile, the number of detainees who have died in state custody has reached 470, according to their records. You can also read: The state of exception, which leaves more than 90,000 people detained for allegedly belonging to gangs, was approved after the murder of more than eighty people in a weekend at the end of March 2022, which journalistic investigations indicate was due to the breaking of a pact between the Government and criminal gangs. This measure has become the government's only bet against gangs, which also earned President Nayib Bukele his immediate re-election for a second term, despite the constitutional prohibition, and which maintains high approval among Salvadorans.