The Political Commission of El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly issued a favorable opinion Monday to allow this state body to vote on the president’s proposal at its next plenary session Nayib Bukele to reduce the number of municipalities from 252 to 44.

“We have approved a historic ruling for the restructuring of our municipalities, to leave behind the old system that hindered the development of El Salvador. We are establishing a new form of public administration,” the Assembly published on Twitter after the vote in said committee.

During the plenary session at the end of his fourth year of government on June 1, President Nayib Bukele announced to an ovation that he will shape another country, according to the Salvadoran newspaper El Faro.

President Bukele, as part of his fourth government speech on June 1, asked delegates to approve this reform before the 2024 elections.

According to the President of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro, this change “will not affect the election calendar” for 2024, when municipal councils will be voted on.

“We are going to reduce the number of mayors in the country from 262 to 44 (…) the current municipalities will become municipalities that in turn integrate these 44 mayors (…) so we no longer have 262 mayors, only 44 with their respective city ​​councils,” said Bukele.

The president assured that “many mayors dedicate themselves only to stealing or seeing what personal benefit they derive from people’s resources.”

However, several analysts have pointed out that this plays into the electoral interests of the executive and the governing Nuevas Ideas (NI) party.

According to the document, “significant savings for the state of up to $750 million” will be generated.

With the reduction, the municipalities become sub-municipalities (262) that integrate the 44 municipalities, divided into the already established 14 departments.

Exception status

El Salvador’s Congress on Wednesday approved a 30-day extension of an emergency regime through which President Nayib Bukele is waging a “war” against the violent gangs that have devastated the Central American country.

“By 67 votes (out of 84), the initiative of the President of the Republic is approved (…) in extending the emergency regime,” said the President of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro.

This is the fifteenth extension of the exceptional regime, which is in force from 16 June to 15 July.

This regime, which allows, among other things, arrests without a prior court order, was established following an escalation in murders that killed 87 people between 25 and 27 March 2022.

Various studies show that an average of 9 out of 10 Salvadorans feel safe with the exceptional regime, which has been in force for 15 months.