In line with the controversial reforms to the judicial career law approved at the end of August [WR-21-36], El Salvador’s supreme court (CSJ) has installed 98 new judges. This comes as the reforms, which force judges and prosecutors to retire once they turn 60 or after completing 30 years of service (excluding those from the CSJ), continue to draw criticism, stoke protests, and fuel legal appeals. All of this adds to existing fears regarding judicial independence which have intensified since the new legislature, in which the ruling Nuevas Ideas (NI) now has a two-thirds majority, took up its seats in May and promptly dismissed five members of the CSJ’s constitutional chamber (SC) and attorney general, Raúl Melara, all critics of President Nayib Bukele [WR-21-18].
Widely censured as unconstitutional, the reforms were promulgated by President Bukele on 17 September. The same day a local human rights group, Cristosal, filed a complaint on behalf of at least 50 judges before the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the Salvadorean state for “violation of judicial independence” in relation to the changes. Among other things, Cristosal’s complaint accused the Salvadorean state of violating labour stability and the rights of equality and non-discrimination of people over the age of 60. Five days later a court in San Miguel department also issued an order suspending the law’s application for now - which the CSJ has failed to heed and is appealing.
The CSJ has offered some concessions in response to the wave of criticism sparked by the reforms, which also stems from suspicion that they are aimed at ejecting certain judges in particular – not least Jorge Guzmán (aged 61), in charge of investigating the 1981 ‘El Mozote’ massacre, one of the worst human rights abuses of the country’s 1980-1992 civil war. On 22 September the CSJ offered severance pay to judges over 60 who agreed to resign voluntarily before 25 September. It added that judges could apply to continue working on an availability basis, particularly in relation to cases involving grave violations of human rights. However, this has failed to convince the judges or government critics. For instance, Guzmán has refused to continue working. In a letter dated 23 September reiterating complaints that the law was unconstitutional, he said he would leave office on the date that it becomes effective (26 September) and would only return if it were declared unconstitutional or revoked.
New judges added to US blacklist
On 20 September the US Department of State (DoS) added the new SC members, Elsy Dueñas De Avilés, Óscar Alberto López Jerez, Héctor Nahún Martínez García, José Ángel Peréz Chacón, and Luis Javier Suárez Magaña to its list of individuals from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras), first unveiled at the end of June [WR-21-27], accused of corruption, obstructing investigations into corruption, or undermining democratic process. According to the DoS, the five accepted direct appointments to the SC by the legislature “in a process that appears to have contravened the Salvadoran constitution”.
Protests continue
The reforms to the judicial career law featured among complaints of anti-government protesters who took to the streets again on 30 September in the capital San Salvador. With media reports estimating turnout of some 2,000 people, these are the third major protests in a month against the Bukele government, following a massive demonstration on 15 September – the biggest since he took office in June 2019 – and on 1 September.
As well as the judicial reforms, protesters were demonstrating against the recent SC ruling lifting the ban on immediate presidential re-election [WR-21-18], and adoption of the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender.
Those taking part in the protests included high-profile judges such as Guzmán, unions representing judicial officials such as Sindicato de Empleados y Empleadas Judiciales (SEJES), war veterans demanding higher pensions, health unions, and civil society groups such as Cristosal.
Bukele, meanwhile, has downplayed the protests. In response to the 15 September demonstrations, he changed the bio on his Twitter profile to “the coolest dictator in the world” – an apparent joke in response to concerns about his perceived authoritarianism.