Nayid Bukele, who became El Salvador’s president last 1 June, marched into the chambers of the nation’s Congress on 9 February flanked by gun-toting troops and invoked an obscure constitutional measure allowing him to declare an emergency session of the legislature.
The emergency: he wants the Congress to approve his requested $109 billion outlay for new security measures.
Bukele said that God told him to be patient but that he might dissolve the legislature if it doesn’t approve his request by this Sunday.
“This was a sight we thought we’d never see again,” said Johnny Wright, who leads the opposition Nuevo Tiempo party. “It was completely unnecessary” because Congress was willing to pass the measure before Bukele’s deadline, he added.
Fiona Mackie, director for Latin America at the Economic Intelligence Unit, said Bukele’s move was “reckless” and would leave a stain on his presidency.
Later, Bukele tweeted a photo of his infant daughter “watching her daddy on television” surrounded by national flags and armed soldiers.
Bukele reportedly enjoys 90 percent popularity among El Salvador’s public.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Welcome to the World. Name the country, name the leaders… it’s a global freak show.
