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News > El Salvador

El Salvador: Lawmakers Urge President Bukele's Impeachment

  • The sign reads,

    The sign reads, "Bukele broke the law and he will be prosecuted," San Salvador, El Salvador, Feb. 9, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @damianalegria

Published 10 February 2021
Opinion

On Feb. 9, 2020, Nayib Bukele carried out a failed coup d'état after stormed Congress with the Military.

Salvadoran lawmakers Tuesday requested an impeachment trial against President Nayib Bukele over his possible mental incapacity.

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The request came a year after Bukele stormed Congress with Armed Forces members to put pressure on lawmakers to approve a US$109 million loan requested from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).

"We cannot uplift a country that is rushing down an abyss with a sick president at the helm," Arena Party lawmaker Ricardo Velasquez said when requesting the application of Article 131 of the Constitution.

This article states that Congress must declare the president's physical or mental incapacity after the unanimous opinion of a commission of five doctors appointed by the Parliament.

"During his term, Bukele violated the Constitution and the laws, attempted a coup d'état, militarized the Congress, called for insurrection, and attacked democracy," lawmaker Mauricio Vargas explained.

At the end of the session, the Assembly approved to appoint a medical commission in the coming days. 

If the medical commission reaches a unanimous diagnosis on Bukele's mental health, and Congress approves his removal, Vice President Felix Ulloa would assume the Presidency.

Congress also decided to discuss Defense Minister Rene Merino's dismissal for allowing Bukele to militarize the Parliament on February 9, 2020. 

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