This was stated by the general secretary of this left-wing group, Óscar Ortiz, when he addressed the non-payment of part of the debt. “We will think about it,” he said, clarifying that the goal is to reach the final moment, he said, quoted by the newspaper El Faro.
The director of the Red Awning pointed out that they had failed to obtain from the Ministry of Finance part of the political debt they accumulated from the 2019 presidential elections and the 2021 parliamentary and local elections.
Political debt is the money that the state gives to parties to finance their election campaigns, and its value is determined by the number of votes in elections. It’s estimated to rise to around $34 million this year.
Ortiz acknowledged his party’s current financial situation, saying that “they have a lot of outstanding debt from the last election campaign.” This, he explained, is in addition to the fact that “they (the government) have threatened half the world that if they fund a party they will be fired from the Treasury.”
He explained that it was not only the political debt that justified his party’s withdrawal from the election campaign, but also that the state was privileging President Nayib Bukele’s party, Nuevas Ideas, by “controlling the entire apparatus used to mobilize illegal money”. the campaign.”
Although the money does not reach other groups, “they are currently giving them funding (Nuevas Ideas). We’ve seen things that are truly shocking, like the Miss Universe girls. And to a president who “uses illegality to win an election.”
When Ortiz spoke about the recent edition of “Miss Universe” (whose venue is El Salvador), he refers to what happened during a gala dinner where several of the contestants wore a cap with the message “Bukele “2024” was engraved on the front, El Faro clarified.
The complaint is based on the fact that the Electoral Law (Article 184, second paragraph) and the Constitution (Article 18) clearly establish the rules prohibiting a public official from exploiting his position to pursue partisan politics. At the moment Bukele is President of the Republic and a presidential candidate.
“I’m not saying we won’t compete. I’m just saying we’ll look at all options. And we will do everything that suits us until the last moment…” said the party leader.
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