Ernesto Muyshondt

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Muyshondt and the second or maternal family name is García Prieto.

Ernesto Luis Muyshondt García Prieto (born 30 August 1975) is a Salvadoran businessman, politician and member of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. He served as the mayor of San Salvador, the capital and largest city in El Salvador, from 2018 to 2021. He was previously a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador from 2015 until 2018.

Ernesto Muyshondt
Muyshondt in 2018
Mayor of San Salvador
In office 1 May 2018 – 30 April 2021
Preceded by	Nayib Bukele
Succeeded by	Mario Durán
Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador from San Salvador
In office 1 May 2015 – 30 April 2018
Constituency	San Salvador
Personal details
Born	(1975-08-30) 30 August 1975 (age 49) San Salvador, El Salvador
Political party	Nationalist Republican Alliance
Spouse	Karla Belismelis de Muyshondt
Relatives	Alejandro Muyshondt (cousin)
Education	José Matías Delgado University
Occupation	Businessman, politician

Biography

In 2017, incumbent San Salvador Mayor Nayib Bukele was expelled from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party. In response, Bukele announced that he would seek a new political party and run for president in the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election.^[1] The political upheaval came less than six months before the 2018 Salvadoran municipal elections, when voters would choose a new Mayor of San Salvador.^[1]

The right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) selected Ernesto Muyshondt, a deputy in the Legislative Assembly, as its candidate.^[1] The ruling FMLN, which had held the mayor's office until it expelled Bukele from the party, chose Jackeline Rivera, a National Assembly deputy from Cuscatlán and former child soldier during the Salvadoran Civil War, as its candidate for mayor.^[1] Observers believed that Muyshondt had the edge in the race.^[1] Muyshondt easily defeated Rivera in the mayoral election on 4 March 2018.^[2] Muyshondt received 88,194 votes, or 61.2%, while Rivera placed a distant second with 39,736 votes, or 27.61%.^[3]

Muyshondt was inaugurated as Mayor of San Salvador on 1 May 2018.^[4]

In the legislative elections, held in February 2021, Muyshondt lost re-election for the Mayor of San Salvador against the candidate of Nuevas Ideas, Mario Durán.^[5] On 4 June 2021, he was placed under house arrest on suspicions of electoral fraud and illegal negotiations with gangs.^[6] On 6 June 2022, during a hearing against him, Muyshondt stated on the record that he had been so severely beaten in Moiriana prison on three occasions that he had to be taken to hospital due to acute danger to his life.^[7] He was hospitalized in January 2023 following a "prolonged hunger strike".^[8]

On 9 August, Muyshondt was acquitted by the Public Prosecution Service of the charge of embezzling taxpayers' money from sanitation workers, but the Attorney General's Office appealed against this verdict.^[9] On 19 October 2023, the legal deadline for Muyshondt to be released from prison was set to expire. On 19 October 2023, the legal deadline for Muyshondt to be released after two years in prison without a conviction was due to expire.^[10] One day before this deadline expired, on 18 October 2023, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital.[9] No public reasons were given for the measure.^[11] A report on Muyshondt's state of health requested by the psychiatric court at the end of October 2023 was still not available at the end of 2023.^[11]

References

1. Leidloff, Anne (30 October 2017). "El Salvador: Expelled by the FMLN, San Salvador's Mayor will Run for President". Latin America Bureau. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
2. "FMLN Goes Down to Defeat in El Salvador". El Salvador Perspectives. 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
3. "Muyshondt Ganó Elección con 88 Mil 194 Votos" [Muyshondt Won the Election with 88 Thousand 194 Votes]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
4. Benitez, Beatriz (1 May 2018). "Ernesto Muyshondt Asume como Alcalde de San Salvador" [Ernesto Muyshondt Assumes Office of Mayor of San Salvador]. La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
5. Marsh, Aygen (3 March 2021). "New Ideas Won 17 Mayors Out Of 19 In San Salvador, According To Preliminary Results". Amico Hoops. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
6. Villarán, Julio (4 June 2021). "PNC Captura al Ernesto Muyshondt por Apropiación Indebida de Retenciones en Perjuicio de la Hacienda Pública" [PNC Captures Ernesto Muyshondt for Misappropriation of Retentions to the Detriment of the Public Finance]. La Página (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 June 2021.
7. "Corte de El Salvador envía a juicio a Ernesto Muyshondt – DW – 22/04/2023". dw.com (in Spanish). 22 April 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
8. López Vides, Carlos (26 January 2023). "Ernesto Muyshondt Está Hospitalizado tras Prolongada Huelga de Hambre" [Ernesto Muyshondt is Hospitalized after a Prolonged Hunger Strike]. El Salvador.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 February 2023.
9. Beltrán Luna, Jorge (22 September 2023). "Cámara ordena repetir juicio contra Ernesto Muyshondt, de caso por el que había sido absuelto". Noticias de El Salvador (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
10. Urbina, Javier (18 October 2023). "Vence plazo para que exalcalde Ernesto Muyshondt permanezca en prisión". La Prensa Grafica. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
11. Ávalos, Por Héctor Silva (29 October 2023). "La historia de los Muyshondt, dos primos que pasaron de aliados de Bukele a presos al borde de la muerte". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 4 March 2024.

Political offices
Preceded by Nayib Bukele	Mayor of San Salvador 2018–2021	Succeeded by Mario Durán