Apr
Sister Cities
The final blow to the Institute of Access to public Information?
LA PRENSA GRAFICA reports that president Bukele has ordered the dismissal of one of the last critical members of the Institute of Access to Public Information (IAIP, in Spanish), Liduvina Escobar:
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, ordered the removal of the commissioner of the Institute for Access to Public Information (IAIP), Liduvina Escobar, for the “likely commission of acts that affect the functioning of the IAIP and non-compliance of her duties”, something that the official denies.
For this procedure, Bukele also ordered the immediate suspension of her role as one of the main commissioners and that Escobar be restricted from all access to any of the IAIP computers.
In statements to LA PRENSA GRAFICA, Commissioner Escobar said that she was notified of the process against her at 9:20 in the morning of this Friday, April 23 and assured that the accusations are not real, but something fabricated to remove her from the position. She also said that she is surprised by the speed with which the Executive has acted, since her suspension from her position is the product of a citizen complaint that was filed on April 16.
“For me it is not a surprise. It only confirms the relationship of some commissioners who are in the plenary session of the IAIP with the Presidential House. This is because I have made complaints of harassment against some colleagues from the plenary, not from the government. Today’s reaction is to my position in favor of respecting the Law on Access to Public Information”, Escobar told LA PRENSA GRÁFICA.
On April 16, the commissioner who represents the unions sector shared on social media the harassment and attacks she suffered inside the institution, even by her colleagues in the plenary session.
At that time, Escobar assured that the attacks were due to her “dissonant” position with other commissioners whom civil society organizations associate with the Executive Branch. Also because she had denounced the setbacks within the Institute.
