SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador. The Salvadoran government announced with great fanfare in 2019 that it would begin a study to propose reforms to the Constitution promulgated in 1983. The initiative was led by Vice President Félix Ulloa and promised to produce a modern and inclusive document that reflected the feelings and thoughts of the people .

Ulloa and a group of specialists invited various social organizations to contribute to the drafting of a new Constitution. Among the proposals discussed were the possibility of legalizing abortion in four specific circumstances, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. Upon concluding their analysis, the lawyers proposed a total of 216 changes to the 274 articles that make up the current Constitution.

The team delivered the reform proposals to President Nayib Bukele on September 15, but he decided not to include them in the document that will be presented to Congress for discussion and voting.

“I have decided, so that there is no doubt, not to propose any type of reform to any article that has to do with the right to life (from the moment of conception), with marriage (maintaining only the original design, a man and a woman) or with euthanasia,” Bukele posted on his Facebook account .

He accused the opposition of spreading rumors and waging a smear campaign to legalize abortion, same-sex marriage, and euthanasia. “You have known me for many years and you know that I would not propose any of those things, no matter how much international pressure I face,” Bukele emphasized in the post.

A president against LGBT

Bukele, 40, who usually projects a casual and modern image, proclaims himself "dictator of El Salvador, the emperor, or the coolest president." However, he resembles conservative anti-rights movements more than the millennial president with progressive policies.

“Bukele cultivates an image of himself as a youthful and modern leader in tune with the current needs of the country ,” said José Miguel Vivanco, director of Human Rights Watch.

"However, his statements on abortion (in a country where it is prohibited even if the mother's life is in danger or if the woman is a victim of rape) and same-sex marriage demonstrate, once again, that we are dealing with a retrograde and authoritarian politician who despises human rights and democratic values," he adds.

Presentes requested a comment from the press office of the Vice President of the Republic, Félix Ulloa, but no response was received by the time of publication.

[NOW] In San Salvador, protests are taking place against President Bukele's policies, and Lady Drag is making another appearance. Who is this figure who made her mark in 2021? A profile in this article: https://t.co/5k0HQl9AhK pic.twitter.com/7yzUyZaOlI

— Presentes Agency (@PresentesLGBT) December 12, 2021

The constant threat to the LGBT+ population

Another right denied by the ruling party, which controls the legislative, executive and judicial branches, was the shelving of the proposed Gender Identity Law presented in 2018 that was being discussed in the Women and Gender Commission of Congress.

Bukele's pro-government legislators dismissed 30 bills that had been under review by the previous legislature (2018-2021). They deemed them "obsolete and out of touch with reality," according to statements by Marcela Pineda, a pro-government deputy from the Nuevas Ideas party.

“Since deputies loyal to President Bukele gained control of the Legislative Assembly in May, the legislature has adopted drastic measures that threaten the rights of LGBT+ people ” Cristian González Cabrera, a researcher at Human Rights Watch told Presentes .

And he adds, “for example, in May they shelved a project that would have established a legal gender recognition procedure for transgender people.”

A government that shows no will

On May 1, 2021, the new Legislative Assembly was installed in El Salvador for a three-year term. President Nayib Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party won a resounding victory in the February midterm elections. Together with its allies, it secured a supermajority in the assembly, winning 64 of the 84 seats. This majority allows them to govern and pass legislation without opposition.

“This year there were setbacks regarding the human rights of LGBTI people. We presented a new proposal for a Gender Identity Law and they didn't even bother to put it on their agendas and study it,” told Presentes .

“There is no goodwill among the new members of the Legislative Assembly to address these issues,” he added.

Suspicion of endorsed violence

Presentes confirmed with a legislative source that the Women and Gender Commission has not yet discussed a new draft bill on gender identity. The bill was submitted in August by various social organizations.

The U.S. Treasury Department in the first week of December accused two senior government officials of facilitating a negotiation with the bloody gangs in exchange for electoral support for Bukele's party in the February elections.

“In 2020, the government of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele provided economic incentives to the Salvadoran gangs MS-13 and Barrio 18 in exchange for guaranteeing low levels of gang violence and confirmed homicides.” “Gang leaders also agreed to lend political support to the Nuevas Ideas party in the upcoming elections,” the Treasury Department stated in an official press release.

Crimes compared to 2020

The organization Communicating and Empowering Trans Women – COMCAVIS Trans , reported eight murders of LGBTI people in 2020. As of December 16, 2021, seven more people had been murdered: one trans man, four trans women, and two gay men.

On March 3, police reported the discovery of the body of a transgender man who had been strangled. His face and hands showed visible signs of injury, according to the Attorney General's Office. He could not be identified because he was not carrying any personal documents.

The organization Generation HT tried to identify the murdered person by the personal objects found at the scene or by physical features to determine the victim's identity.

“We tried to identify who it was from our social base, since we keep an institutional record. We made a list of possible people who matched some characteristics, but unfortunately, we couldn't find any of the colleagues we have on record. Sadly, we couldn't claim the body because we didn't have any documentation to support our claim that we knew the person,” Joshua Navas, executive director of Generación HT Presentes

Other cases

Police reported on March 6 the discovery of the body of a trans woman in an advanced state of decomposition in the municipality of Rosario de Mora , 24 kilometers south of the capital.

According to the forensic doctor who examined the body, the victim was tied up with ropes inside a plastic bag, and did not carry any identification documents.

On Sunday, April 25, Zashy Zuely del Cid Velásquez, a 27-year-old trans woman, was shot in the back and killed . The bullet pierced her lung. The incident occurred in the city of San Miguel, 138 kilometers east of the capital.

Zashy was displaced from her home due to threats from the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang. This gang controls much of the territory in El Salvador.

In the same month of April, the murder of a trans woman with a firearm was reported in the department of San Vicente , about 63 kilometers east of San Salvador.

A relative of the victim reported that she was attacked with a firearm, but declined to give further details out of fear.

Police reported two crimes in the department involving male victims.

Records

Comcavis reported in May the murder of a transgender woman with a firearm. The incident occurred in the municipality of Texistepeque , in the department of Santa Ana, in western Honduras. She could not be identified.

In August, the organization documented the strangulation of a gay man in the department of La Unión, in the eastern part of the country. No personal information about the victim is available.

In the early morning of November 21, 22-year-old Brayan Alexander Aguiñada García was attacked with a firearm as he returned to his home located in Copapayo Sonsonate department , 64 kilometers west of the capital.

The crime was committed after he attended a party. He had received threats from the Mara Salvatrucha MS-13 gang.

No progress for the LGBT population

According to González Cabrera, speaking to Presentes, "the current government has done nothing to address these historical problems."

"In addition to the decline of the rule of law in El Salvador, LGBT people face the same old challenges: the complex web of violence and discrimination that puts their physical integrity at risk, limits their life choices and, in some cases, forces them to flee their countries ," González Cabrera told Presentes .

According to the United Nations, El Salvador was one of the countries with the highest number of homicides in the world. Since 2019, it has registered a drastic drop in homicides.

From January to December, police reported 936 murders, compared to 1,322 committed in the same period last year, a decrease of 29.1 percent.

Presentes contacted the Attorney General's press office to inquire about the progress of the investigations. No response was received by the time of publication.

“The year 2021 represents a total standstill in the limited progress achieved by previous governments, therefore LGBT rights will face difficult times in 2022,” González told Presentes.