08/07/2026
CERLAC is Co-Sponsoring: Mass Incarceration in El Salvador: State of Exception, State of Repression
Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education
What is going on in El Salvador and how does this matter to Canada?
In March 2022 the Nayib Bukele administration in El Salvador invoked an emergency measure called a “state of exception” in reaction to a spike in gang violence.
Under the pretext of protecting public order, this measure suspends freedoms of assembly, association, and expression, as well as fundamental rights surrounding arrest and detention. These include the right of habeas corpus, the right to be informed of the reasons for detention, access to legal assistance, and numerous guarantees of due process.
Though the Constitution allows for such exceptional measures on a temporary basis, the state of exception has been renewed continuously on a monthly basis, making it a permanent security policy. It is also wielded as a tool of repression against environmental defenders, human rights workers, lawyers, journalists, political opposition members, and others.
Over 91,000 people have been imprisoned under the emergency regime, making El Salvador’s incarceration rate the highest in the world at 2% of the population.
There has been a dramatic drop in gang-perpetrated murders, but at the cost of a human rights catastrophe. National and international organizations have documented dismaying patterns such as arrests for alleged gang membership with no evidence, often in poor communities, persecution and arrest of courageous defenders of human rights, environment, and democracy, severe mistreatment in detention amounting to torture, and preposterous and cruel collective trials of hundreds at a time on gang-related charges. According to the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) there have been 483 deaths in custody.
Join us on August 10, Prisoners’ Justice Day, for a panel discussion and educational Q&A session on who is being affected by unjust imprisonment in El Salvador, and Canada’s stake in the erosion of democracy and human rights in El Salvador.
When – August 10 – doors open: 6:30pm, event starts 7pm
Where – College Street United Church – 502 Bathurst Street, Toronto ON | + Online
How – Advance registration required https://www.tickettailor.com/events/panitchschool/2301924 – Free
This event will be taking place in person in Toronto and online. Please register for further details and online meeting link.
This informational event is being co-organized by the Leo Panitch School and the Committee in Solidarity with the Victims of the State of Exception in El Salvador.
Event endorsements:
Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC) at York University.
Comité pour les droits humains en Amérique latine (CDHAL)
The Department of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies (ISPLAS) at University of Toronto
Our featured speakers
Samuel Ramirez, activist with the Movement of Victims of the Regime (MOVIR)
Ingrid Escobar, human rights defender, and Director of Socorro Juridico Humanitario (Humanitarian Legal Aid)
Those in attendance are warmly invited to gather afterwards to continue this important conversation. Complimentary refreshments will be on offer.
Accessibility
College Street United Church is located at College and Bathurst in Toronto. The building is wheelchair accessible and features multiple accessible, gender neutral washrooms. We kindly ask all attendees to refrain from wearing scented products at Leo Panitch School events.
Any questions or requests regarding accessibility, participation, or programming can be directed to [email protected].
