After a long, hot summer of fierce political battles, marathon negotiating sessions, and international pressure, on August 19th political leaders reached an agreement on the contentious issue of Supreme Court justices. The clash over the constitutionality of elections to the Supreme Court was considered by some analysts to be the most serious political crisis since the 1992 Peace Accords. The settlement – mediated by President Funes – was presented as a Solomonic decision with both ARENA and the FMLN making concessions. But, it would appear that the FMLN and its allied parties conceded a little less: the new president of the Constitutional Court— and thus of the full Supreme Court – is José Salomon Padilla, a member of the FMLN.
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