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Dear John,

It has been another busy week here at WOLA.

On January 26, Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice banned opposition leaders, María Corina Machado and Henrique Capriles Radonski from running for public office for 15 years. Machado won the primary elections held by the opposition in October 2023 with an overwhelming majority, positioning her as the main opposition candidate in presidential elections that are due to take place in Venezuela this year. 

The decision taken by the Supreme Court violates political rights, international human rights standards and the spirit of the Barbados agreement, signed between the Maduro government and opposition parties. We have issued a statement calling on the international community to press the Maduro government to comply with prior commitments and continue the negotiation process facilitated by Norway. 

In the meantime, Nayib Bukele, the popular president of El Salvador is due to be re-elected on Sunday despite a constitutional ban. WOLA wrote a listicle outlining the steps that mark the country’s deep democratic backsliding since Bukele took office in 2019. Our analysis has been getting quite a bit of media attention. 

Also, next week a bill that could gut protections for asylum seekers and is tied to aid for Ukraine and Israel will be up for a vote in the Senate. Ahead of the discussions WOLA published answers to 5 key questions. 

In such unsettling times, it is important to protect the voices of civil society organizations and social movements based in the region who work tirelessly to advance human rights. On that note, next week we will be announcing the honorees of the WOLA Human Rights Award 2024. Stay tuned!

All the best,

Carolina Jiménez

WOLA President

🇸🇻 This timeline highlights key steps that have led to the rapid deterioration of democratic values since President Nayib Bukele took office in 2019. Read more here. 

In April 2022, WOLA launched its one-of-a-kind Border Oversight Database, which documents hundreds of reports of human rights violations and abuses against migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

"The process [in El Salvador] has been so irregular that I do think it will suffer from a lack of legitimacy [...] The control that the president exerts on all of the organs of the state and, above all, on the electoral system, removes the adjective ‘fair’ from these elections."  

Carolina Jiménez Sandoval,

President

– El Faro, With Reelection Almost Certain, Sunday Vote Will Test Extent of Salvadoran Opposition

"There is a high concentration of power in the hands of current president Nayib Bukele and his party, Nuevas Ideas, which maintains control of the Legislative Assembly with 55 of the 84 seats. Likewise, a series of actions show that there have been constant threats and interferences in the judiciary by President Bukele, which limit the guarantees of independence. This article is in Spanish.   

Ana María Méndez Dardón,

Director for Central America

– elsalvador.com, El Salvador incumple estándares mínimos de integridad electoral, señala WOLA desde EE.UU.

“It will be good for both countries to have at least consular services [...] But it’s a decision that has political implications and I think they’re both calculating what these implications could be.”

Carolina Jiménez Sandoval,

President

– Houston Landing, “No solution”: Houston’s growing Venezuelan population lacks consular services

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