Mar
Human Rights
CCR statement – Father Miguel Vasquez
IN DEFENSE OF FATHER MIGUEL VASQUEZ, PRIEST OF ARCATAO
The Association for the Development of El Salvador (CRIPDES) and the Association of Communities for the Development of Chalatenango (CCR) express to the national and international public opinion our deep concern about expressions of hatred, acts of intimidation and threats of political violence against Father Miguel Vásquez, priest of the Fray Bartolomé Martir parish in the municipality of Arcatao, department of Chalatenango, El Salvador.
Father Miguel, as he is commonly known by his parishioners, has been a fundamental pillar of the Arcatao community since the 1980s and a spiritual and moral reference that, from his position as priest, promotes the development of healthy and organized communities with a critical view in the department of Chalatenango.
Since the end of 2020, Father Miguel has denounced the harassment suffered by the communities by military personnel stationed in the municipalities of Nueva Trinidad and Arcatao with the excuse of preventing drug-trafficking across borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also has echoed the complaints against the militarization of these municipalities since these actions violate the right of mobility of Salvadorans who live in the land awarded to Honduras, these communities depend on crossing the border for trade and access to basic services.
During the last electoral campaign for mayors and deputies in El Salvador, Father Miguel also denounced numerous irregularities that took place in Arcatao, such as the history of corruption of the candidate from the Nuevas Ideas party, and he claimed to have documented the buying votes by Salvadorans abroad financing the ruling party. In addition to the complaints made public in one letter, Father Miguel called on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to investigate irregularities in the Arcatao campaign, where Nuevas Ideas party won only by one vote, and asked that they investigate the complaints of vote buying, the sources of financing of the campaign, the reason why the military troops did not allow Salvadorans living on the other side of the border to exercise their right to vote, and that violations of the electoral code be punished.
Due to his denounces, Father Miguel is now the target of attacks and threats by individuals with questionable political backgrounds that have strengthened by the hate-speech promoted in the country from the highest political levels. This political violence has also affected other leaders of local political parties: on March 6, the lifeless body of Concepción Varela, candidate for mayor for the Partido de Concertación Nacional (PCN) in the Nueva Trinidad municipality, was found in a pasture after having received death threats and being missing for 10 days.
As social organizations, we are concerned about the systematic attack on the country’s democratic institutions and the potential for political violence that we see in the communities of Arcatao and Nueva Trinidad. We are alert to the escalation of political violence in our communities and we make a call:
- To the authorities, to guarantee the physical and moral integrity of Father Miguel Vásquez and to investigate irregularities in the electoral process and all expressions of violence against social leaders. Constitutional guarantees and freedoms must be respected for all Salvadorans.
- To national and international Human Rights institutions, to monitor the post-electoral situation in El Salvador and activate their protection and complaint mechanisms against any violation of Human Rights.
- To civil society organizations and solidarity organizations at the national and international level to be actively vigilant, defend democratic institutions and denounce every act of political corruption and Human Rights violations in El Salvador.
San Salvador, March 15, 2021
