On the Friday, February 7 Legislative plenary session, deputies of the Nuevas Ideas political party presented a piece of correspondence requesting to repeal article 210 of the Constitution of the Republic to eliminate the political debt, also known as mandatory public financing for political parties.
Article 210 of the Constitution establishes that “The State recognizes the political debt as a financing mechanism for the contending political parties, aimed at promoting their freedom and independence.”
The next step in the repeal process is for the Legislative Assembly’s political commission to review the proposal and determine whether it should proceed to a vote.
It is almost guaranteed that this article will be repealed as it was President Bukele who began the process by posting about the issue on his X social media account.
Well, I do believe that political debt in El Salvador should be eliminated. Political parties can finance themselves as we did in 2019. Difficult? Yes, it was difficult. But wasn’t it better that way? Nayib Bukele.
Removing the mandatory public financing for political parties is something Salvadorans have been asking for years.
After the 2024 elections, El Salvador was scheduled to pay political parties about $38 million from public funds.
According to data from the Ministry of Finance, following the 2019 presidential elections, the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) political party received $7,167,994, VAMOS received $109,005.75, the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) received $43,149.75, and the Social Democratic Party received $71,328.69.
First constitutional Change
If approved, this will be the first constitutional reform enacted through the express mechanism to amend constitutional articles.
Until January 2025, constitutional reforms in El Salvador required approval from two separate legislatures. The first legislature needed a simple majority (50% +1 vote), while the second had to ratify the change with a two-thirds majority.
However, constitutional amendments can now be approved within a single legislature, requiring the support of three-quarters of the elected deputies (45 out of 60).
