Home » World » Lawyers warn that Merino Monroy shows more “loyalty” to the president than to the Constitution | News from El Salvador

Lawyers warn that Merino Monroy shows more “loyalty” to the president than to the Constitution | News from El Salvador

The constitutional lawyer, Enrique Anaya, explains that, although the President of the Republic is the general commander of the Armed Forces, there is no obligation to obey illegal orders.

Lawyers consulted by El Diario de Hoy describe the conduct shown by the Minister of Defense, René Francis Merino Monroy, in the interpellation that the Assembly made to him last Friday.

In the opinion of the specialists, the official revealed in his statements that any order he receives from President Nayib Bukele, even if it is “illegitimate”, the official takes it as “constitutional” because he has the support of the popular vote that the president received to reach The presidency.

> Defense Minister refused to reveal who ordered him to militarize the Assembly on February 9

“The orders given by the President of the Republic and Commander General of the Armed Forces are equally legal because he has been elected by the vast majority of citizens and in accordance with the law and the Constitution. He swore to comply and enforce the Constitution and the orders he gives me are in that sense ”, explained Merino Monroy in his interpellation.

“It is implausible” that no one has given an order to break into the Assembly with soldiers, lawyers say

“The president is supposed to act on the basis of legality, but if the order is illegal, he is obliged to tell the president that he does not comply with it, because loyalty to the Constitution is before loyalty to the president. That (which Merino Monroy says) is called due obedience, which was used as an excuse to kill people in another era, that is no longer accepted ”, explained the constitutional lawyer, Francisco Bertrand Galindo.

In this regard, René Portillo Cuadra, from ARENA, due to the position of Merino Monroy in the interpellation, rebuked him that if President Bukele ordered him to supervise a massacre he would also do it, as well as supervising the takeover of the Assembly on February 9 , but the minister replied that he could not answer on a hypothetical case.

“Here comes the issue of negligence that a minister says he will accept an order, regardless of whether it is legal or not, it is almost a confession of sedition,” said the tricolor deputy.

The constitutional lawyer, Enrique Anaya, explains that, although the President of the Republic is the general commander of the Armed Forces, there is no “obligation to obey illegal orders; a military man can refuse to carry out orders that are clearly illegal and above all not to carry out orders that affect fundamental rights ”.

In Anaya’s opinion, the strategy used by the defense minister in his interpellation was to say that he complied with a constitutional order to avoid incurring in the “confession of an illegal act”.

– .

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.