With little notice or public consultation, the government of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele this month proposed a broad water law as allied legislators vowed to use their ample majority in the Legislative Assembly to approve the measure within 90 days. The government sent the bill to the Assembly on June 18, just weeks after lawmakers allied with Bukele on the unicameral body’s Environment Commission had shelved dozens of water-law proposals pending from past legislative sessions. Among the sidelined measures was a draft water bill for which 99 articles had been discussed and agreed at the commission level—but had not been put to a floor vote—in the Assembly’s 2018-21 legislative session. Assembly President Ernesto Castro says the new, 168-article bill will be discussed openly with all stakeholders over the next three months. Such discussions will likely be widely followed, given the chronic problems of water quality and... [Log in to read more]