Felipe VI welcomes leaders with courtesy in Bukele’s capture

San Salvador (EFE). – Spain’s King Felipe VI gave courtesy greetings to several leaders, including Argentine President Javier Milley, at the investiture ceremony of El Salvador’s President Naik Bukele in the Salvadoran capital.

The President of Argentina was followed by the President of the Supreme Court of El Salvador, Oscar Alberto López; the President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, and his wife, Lavinia Valbonesi.

When Felipe VI entered the hall of the National Palace of El Salvador, where the investiture ceremony was held, he looked to his right, making a formal gesture towards Miley, López, Noboa and Valbonesi.

Felipe VI near Mile

Felipe VI sat next to Costa Rica’s President Rodrigo Chávez, while the Argentine President sat next to El Salvador’s Supreme Court President Óscar Alberto López.

The King of Spain congratulated the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and the President of Paraguay, Santiago Pena.

Discord between Javier Miley and the Spanish government

This is the first time that Miley corresponds with the Spanish monarch since the Madrid government decided to withdraw the ambassador to Buenos Aires on the 21st, as a result of the Argentine president calling Begoña Gómez “corrupt”.

The Argentine leader made the remarks during a speech at an event of the Spanish far-right party Vox, which he attended in Madrid on May 19.

That same day, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Alberés, announced a call for consultations with the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires and, after the Argentine government refused to rectify Miley’s words, it was decided that he return to Madrid.

This is the first time Felipe VI has visited El Salvador since becoming king. The last visit was as a prince on 1 June 2014 to attend the inauguration of then-president Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2014-2019).

El Salvador and Spain have maintained bilateral relations since the 1980s and cooperate in a variety of fields.

Bukele’s second term in El Salvador

Bukele assumed the presidency this Saturday for a second consecutive five-year term (2024-2029) after emerging victorious from last February’s elections in which he obtained more than 85% of electoral support.

The official investiture ceremony began at 8:05 a.m. local time (2:05 a.m. GMT), with the opening of an extraordinary plenary session for the constitutional oath of Bukele and his vice president, Félix Ulloa, and in which the president of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro, would place the presidential sash on them.

Bukele is the first president of the Salvadoran democratic era to seek re-election despite the fact that the constitution prohibits it, assuming power for another five years amid criticism from the opposition and non-governmental organizations.