Why we shouldn’t ask Bukele to veto the Reconciliation Law

Last night ARENA, PDC and PCN voted in favor of a new amnesty law, “The Reconciliation Law”.

One of the main criticism to this law is “that it allows judges to significantly commute sentences for reasons of health or age, or because alleged perpetrators collaborate“. 

President Bukele has said he plans to veto it.

Nevertheless, the president said he would open the army’s files last December and we are still waiting.

Human Rights Defender from IDHUCA, Arnau Balenas shared his opinion on the matter:

The Legislative Assembly complied with the deadline granted by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice and yesterday passed the Special Law on Transitional Justice, Reparation and National Reconciliation. In recent days, many sectors have discussed the content of its articles and whether the Law is basically a new amnesty or, on the contrary, meets the parameters dictated by the Constitutional Chamber in their ruling of July 13th, 2016.

Beyond the personal considerations that can be made by different sectors, be they from a political or legal approach, we must see with great concern that the President of the Republic vetoes the Law.

Unfortunately, in recent weeks it has been shown that the President does not care about victims or historical memory. If he had a minimum of consideration towards them, he would cease to give power and prominence to the Armed Forces, a designated institution of committing war crimes and serious human rights violations, and would order to open and deliver all military archives.

The President does not mind respecting the law, otherwise he would not have broken into the Legislative Assembly on February 9th or would order mass dismissals to cease, when the Constitutional Chamber itself has pointed out their irregularities.

Because of his words and actions, the only thing that matters to the President is his image in order to win the maximum number of votes and gradually gain control of the three powers of the State. That is something very undemocratic and very similar to what other countries call dictatorship. We cannot ask someone who always ends up making an interested interpretation of the Constitution to protect it and establishes if the articles on this law guarantee a minimum of rights in favor of the victims, that he himself with his attitudes put down.

It would be a paradox to speak out against 9F, abuse of power and the president acting outside the Constitution and, at the same time, asking him to be the interpreter of a Law of such great importance for national reconciliation.

At this time, if we want the institutionality to work and guarantee strict compliance with the Rule of Law, it must be the Constitutional Chamber via follow-up to the ruling of July 13th, 2016, who establishes whether the Law that has been approved complies with the parameters dictated by the Chamber itself, or to point out those articles that do not respect the right that victims have to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition.

Those deputies who, for political purposes, say they are in favor of the victims and therefore voted against the Law, in some cases they are the same as those in favor of death penalty, extrajudicial executions or torture in prisons. These are not allies of the victims or have a genuine interest in them. They are simply political opportunists who use the pain and hope for justice of many victims for a personal purpose.

If the deputies had not approved the Law, we would be faced with the figure of contempt, incurring a remarkable irresponsibility. Now, we hope that the President leaves aside his political desires and does not veto the Law. It must be the Constitutional Chamber who determines if, in the process of preparing this, the victims have been listened to in an honest way and if their rights are guaranteed. If not, I am convinced that the Chamber will resolve according to law, preventing war crimes and crimes against humanity from being left in impunity.

Arnau Baulenas Bardia
Justice Process Team Coordinator
Idhuca

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