Doctor José Joaquín Morales Chávez was born in El Salvador, but had to flee the country on July 14, 1987 due to the armed conflict. He is a specialist surgeon in France, El Salvador and Canada; He is a researcher, lecturer and currently resides in Canada.

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In an interview with Diario de Hoy, he explained that he had recently visited his native country, to corroborate that the allegations of abuse of power by the government of Nayib Bukele. After finishing his trip, together with other Salvadorans who are members of the Salvadoran Nation Abroad movement, he said: “We have verified that there is a lack of respect for human rights, the capture of critical voices, the persecution of the press and the law being politicized.” This says:

What motivated a professional like you to return to El Salvador?
We return as a Salvadoran Nation Abroad. The reason was to know firsthand what is happening in the country, because despite the fact that I am a Canadian citizen, we still identify with El Salvador and we are very concerned about what is happening in our country, especially , what we perceive as a state of a government with dictatorial overtones.

Why dictatorial?
There is a lot of political persecution, the persecution of innocent young people who have been arrested having nothing to do with crime and gangs.

Are you concerned about how they make these captures?
We are concerned because in Canada if you are caught the police will read you the reason for your arrest, they will immediately tell you to remain silent and that you have the right to have a lawyer. It doesn’t happen here, it’s not a proper legal procedure.

So you don’t agree with this form of arrest?
It’s caught like it’s a fishing net, I throw the cast net and whoever falls is caught and it shouldn’t be. They have captured thousands of young people and adults who have nothing to do with organized crime and imprisoned them, keeping them incommunicado with their families.

What do you think of the fact that some of these detainees died in custody?
We are very concerned about this because when you are in prison, the state is responsible for your life. It cannot be otherwise, because otherwise you are in the jungle, and we do not want our country to continue to be a jungle.

Is there a case that seemed stronger to you?
I was very shocked by a young prisoner who was very malnourished, as if he had not eaten anything and his brother was holding him in his arms, because it seemed that the boy could not even walk. These things shock us, because we don’t see that our country and our people are going through this kind of unheard-of, incredible thing; and we don’t see it elsewhere, only in some parts of the Middle East, but it shouldn’t be here and that worries us a lot.

And regarding the exceptional regime, will it bring long-term benefits?
An exceptional regime is an exception, but here this action actually lasted 10 months, so it is a regime of repression and that is why we say that it is a dictatorship that represses without justifying anything.

Is the regime used to capture critics and opponents?
I think so, it is already used to capture and identify the uptake of critics of those who do not hold the speech of the government.

An example of this?
It is used to capture trade unionists in Soyapango for asking for their salary which was not paid to them, this is already a perverse abuse of the so-called regime. We know political prisoners and others who are outside the country because they have been threatened with capture, so El Salvador has become a cage of terror.

What to do with the victims of the emergency regime?
Nothing can be done for the dead, but the families must be compensated, because if the people had nothing to do with organized crime, they should receive reparations from the state for the huge mistake that was made in imprisoning these young, innocent men and women. They must also clean up people’s files and those who have lost their jobs must be paid.

Can all of this be changed?
The state must recognize that it made a mistake and repair not only with the prisoners, but also by repairing the damage it caused to these abandoned people, minors who were left with their grandmothers. We hope.

So, are you worried that the country is a cage of terror?
We don’t want this cage of terror at all. We want a country where there is harmony, where people can talk, where there is no division in the family, where friendship and peace are present in everyday life, where they can talk and, even if they have differences, can talk, but without imposing any criteria or anything.

This ideal country that you have contrasts with the recent reforms approved by the Assembly and which, according to experts, oblige the TSE to register the candidacy of Bukele.
We know the process that was followed by the Constitutional Chamber, the TSE and now the Assembly, following the poem that the president repeats, says that if someone opposes the nomination of candidate X, it is criminal; And why must he be criminal?, if I defend the Constitution of my country. This is not possible.

What do you think of the House’s decision regarding re-election?
We look at it with something that does not obey the democratic spirit, because it is undemocratic to impose something on the people that is not in the Constitution and to impose it on us from the outside.

And the foreign vote?
We have reviewed the act and we are concerned about several things. This law is more than anything to prepare a possible fraud in voting abroad.

But there are the electoral judges, do you trust them?
With what they have done to accept without discussion the House’s decision to register this gentleman as a candidate, despite the fact that they are not ignorant, they know what is at stake in the election and that is why they are there. Accepting this makes them criminals against the Constitution, they have lost their rights as citizens because with this they have promoted an illegal candidacy (of Bukele) and which is prohibited by the Constitution.

What did you find on this trip?
We have verified that what is said in the international media is true, there is a dictatorship, there is a lack of respect for human rights, the persecution of the press, what is called the politicization of law is used, mediating trials are held, the person and then investigate. We have news, but we wanted to come here to check, we spoke with organizations and personalities for this.

What are they going to do next?
With these supplies that we have brought from the country, we will intensify our campaigns to report all the anti-democratic irregularities that are committed in the country.

What message does it give to the public?
We say to the communes, both cantons, hamlets, districts, communes, to organize themselves, to know what their rights are and to defend them, we cannot remain without saying anything, we came with fear.

fears?
I had thought about what I was going to say if they caught me in jail, that is, just as they are scared, we are also scared. But I tell you not to be afraid, let’s overcome fear, let’s talk, let’s unite, organize, exercise your power of organized communities, study your problems, you know more than we do.

And what would he say if they caught him?
I was going to talk to them in English, French, Spanish and I was going to tell them: I am a Salvadoran doctor with Canadian citizenship and they unjustly captured me, please help me.