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Representatives from the Nuevas Ideas party, El Salvador's ruling party, overrode the Constitution and the rule of law to remove five justices from the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General. This surprising maneuver allowed President Nayib Bukele to seize complete control of the state. This prompted hundreds to take to the streets to protest one of the most serious institutional crises since the civil war (1980-1992). Feminist and sexual diversity groups were present and see the Bukele administration and its maneuvers as a serious setback for rights.

"We are facing the country's greatest democratic setback since the postwar period, and this will affect everyone, but especially those in vulnerable situations and those who are already part of socially excluded and marginalized sectors," Erick Iván Ortiz, who ran for the Legislative Assembly in the last elections for the Nuestro Tiempo party, told Presentes.  Salvadoran LGBTI Federation for ten years .

“These are the moments when, as an LGBTI person, you see how talk turns into action. From the moment Bukele removed the Secretariat of Inclusion, which housed the sexual diversity unit, it was a clear indicator that things were going downhill for our community,” Landres Paz told Presentes.

On May 1, the new Legislative Assembly was installed in the Central American country for a three-year term. The Nuevas Ideas party had achieved a resounding victory in the February midterm elections, winning, along with its allies, a supermajority in the chamber, 64 out of a total of 84 seats. This arrangement allows them to govern and approve anything without opposition.

However, the judges of the Constitutional Chamber, the country's highest court, and the Attorney General, Raúl Melara, were the strongest checks and balances on his policies and actions. Bukele was not happy with them.

For that reason, in the first plenary session of Congress, Nuevas Ideas and its allies dismissed the judges and the Attorney General, bypassing all due process.

Immediately after the dismissal, the ruling party deputies appointed new officials, tailored to Bukele's intentions.

Their vote drew condemnation from the White House, the United Nations, the European Union, and several international human rights organizations, while across the country, citizens took to the streets to protest what they consider a coup d'état. Leading the mobilizations are diverse populations, feminists, and students.

Facing the rollback of rights

Landres believes the risks of regressing on the rights of LGBT+ people are high. Since Bukele took office on June 1, he eliminated the sexual diversity department, which handled complaints of rights violations against the LGBTI population. He also repealed Presidential Decree No. 56, which prohibited discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in all state institutions.

The popular president militarized Congress in February 2020 and was accused of violating the human rights of hundreds of people in his health policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some 300 people gathered at the Constitution Monument on Sunday to reject the controversial movement. Holding up signs, the protesters denounced: "When tyranny is law, revolution is order," "Nayib, fascist, you are the terrorist," and "No to absolute power."

"Nuevas Ideas represents a manifestly anti-rights bloc, with spokespersons who use misogyny and homolesbotransphobia as a tool of political attack against adversaries. The president himself has positioned himself against the advancement of LGBTI rights, and among his first measures upon assuming office, he eliminated the Secretariat of Social Inclusion and with it the Directorate of Sexual Diversity. In this scenario, LGBTI people face three latent risks: the passage of laws that restrict rights (such as the ban on same-sex marriage); the criminalization of civil society organizations (which are our only spaces for visibility); and the annulment of constitutional guarantees against rights violations, due to the dismantling of the Attorney General's Office and the Constitutional Chamber ," added Erick Iván Ortiz of the LGBTI Federation.

"We're here to make it known that there are people who oppose this abuse of power by the central government, because it is definitely that: an abuse of power, and it cannot happen because history is clear and we cannot allow it to happen again," Ambar Alfaro, a transgender human rights defender, told Presentes.

Blow to institutionality

The criteria for the selection of judges and prosecutors are established in the Constitution, which is why experts point out that the dismissal and hasty appointment of the new authorities is illegal.

The deputies consider it legitimate due to the large number of votes they obtained in the February election.

"We have begun the real transformation of our country. We represent the people, not elites, not national or international organizations, not parties of the past," wrote Ernesto Castro, president of Congress, on his Twitter account.

However, constitutional experts, academics, and human rights advocates strongly rejected the dismissal of the officials and believe it jeopardizes the independence of the branches of government.

"It's an illegal and unconstitutional act that poses the danger of amassing power in the hands of one person and one political party, against the common good. We know from our own experience that the concentration of power only generates pain and suffering for people, and it's something we don't want to be repeated," Keyla Cáceres, a feminist activist with the Amorales Collective, told the press.

Characterized by a governing style similar to that of former US President Donald Trump, he uses his social media to attack the press, mock the opposition, and provoke fierce fights between his detractors and supporters.

“Judicial independence is fundamental to a healthy democracy and a robust economy. In the face of this advance, we must respond to all advances,” said U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to the Salvadoran case.