Salvadoran Parties Close Campaigns for Municipal Elections

Even though the period of electoral silence has not yet begun in El Salvador, several political parties have already closed their electoral campaigns with public events ahead of next Sunday's elections, in which citizens will elect mayors and members of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).

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As a result of a legal reform approved by Congress, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele, most of the 262 municipalities were converted into districts in El Salvador, a country that now only has 44 municipalities.

Thus, for example, the municipality of San Salvador became part of San Salvador Centro, which includes the towns of Mejicanos, Ayutuxtepeque, Cuscatancingo, and Ciudad Delgado.

Among the candidates who closed, despite the fact that electoral silence has not yet begun, are the current mayor of San Salvador, Mario Duran, who is competing to become the first mayor of San Salvador Centro for the ruling New Ideas party.

His main contender is the candidate of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) Simon Paz, who denounced that the Bukele administration and its legislators have tried to eliminate this leftist organization by all possible means.

"To eliminate the FMLN, they have invested millions and changed several laws. What they did not consider is that it is a party with tradition and structure," he said.

Rommy Jimenez, an academic from the Central American University (UCA), expressed her concern about the Municipal Restructuring Law since numerous unresolved doubts persist that generate uncertainty in the face of the municipal elections on March 3.

When referring to the disappearance of dozens of municipalities, she pointed out the lack of clarity on issues such as the fate of previous municipal ordinances.