Salvador's President Nayib Bukele decreed a state of emergency on Saturday without the necessary congressional endorsement, in a new challenge by the president to lawmakers.
RELATED:
Amid growing social discontent over the severe measures it has taken to deal with the pandemic, Bukele extended an emergency law to deal with the epidemic for 30 days.
This came after an extension approved in April expired at midnight this Sunday. Congress, with an opposition majority, planned to discuss a possible extension on Monday afternoon.
Bukele took advantage of a civil protection law, which allows the president to decree an emergency if Congress cannot meet.
To this end, he claimed that there is still a "risk" of spreading the virus. El Salvador recorded 27 deaths and a total of 1,338 infections.
The measure immediately generated questions about its legality and accusations from opposition deputies.
The Attorney General's Office warned on Sunday that it will file an unconstitutionality suit with the Supreme Court.
"All the presidents in the democratic history of our country have had the power to declare a state of emergency and have exercised it, without legislative approval," Bukele wrote on his Twitter account on Sunday.
The measure extends for 30 days the suspension of classes, transit in areas affected by the pandemic, limits the concentration of people and authorizes discretionary management of funds and purchases to deal with the emergency.