Legislative Assembly authorizes the State to sign a loan with the CAF

The Legislative Branch authorized the Executive Branch in the Finance sector to, through its head or a designated official, sign on behalf of the State and Government of the Republic of El Salvador a loan agreement with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The decision is contained in Decree No. 653, published in the Official Gazette Volume No. 452, Number 168, dated September 10, 2026, on pages 3 to 5. The loan shall be subject to the terms and stipulations established in the contract.

The decree appears under the Legislative Branch section of the bulletin, along with Decree No. 652, which introduces modifications to the current Budget Law in the section corresponding to the Education, Science, and Technology sector (pages 6 to 12). Both instruments share the same issuance date and the same signature block, confirming that they were dispatched during the same legislative session.

What Decree No. 653 Authorizes

• Empowers the Ministry of Finance to sign the loan agreement on behalf of the State and Government of the Republic of El Salvador.
• Allows the signature to be executed by the head of the portfolio or the official expressly designated by them.
• Identifies the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) as the counterparty.
• Establishes that the loan will be subject to the agreed-upon terms and stipulations.
• The official publication occupies pages 3 to 5 of the Official Gazette Volume No. 452, Number 168.

Who Signs and the Date

The decree was issued at the Presidential House, in San Salvador, on September 10, 2026, and bears the signatures of:

• Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, President of the Republic.
• Jerson Rogelio Posada Molina, Minister of Finance.
• Ernesto Alfredo Castro Aldana, President of the Legislative Assembly.
• Suecy Beverley Callejas Estrada and Katheryn Alexia Rivas González, first and second vice presidents.
• Elisa Marcela Rosales Ramírez, José Serafín Orantes Rodríguez, and Reinaldo Alcides Carballo Carballo, first, second, and third secretaries.

Publication and Scope of the Notice

The corresponding Official Gazette is Volume No. 452, Number 168, dated in San Salvador on Thursday, September 10, 2026, under the direction of Oswaldo Stanley Morales Hidalgo. The bulletin’s summary outlines the content of Decree No. 653 and refers to pages 3 to 5, without detailing the amount, term, or specific purpose of the financing in that extract—data that must be specified in the authorized contract.

The scope of the authorization is broad: it is not limited to a specific official, but rather enables the Finance sector to designate whoever will sign the instrument, and leaves the financial conditions open to what is negotiated with CAF.

Since it is a contract signed on behalf of the State and Government, the obligations deriving from it will be met with public funds and will become part of the country’s debt. Therefore, Decree No. 653 enables a new financial commitment of the State, the final burden of which falls on the taxpayers, and its publication in the Official Gazette is the step that provides legal certainty and publicity to the operation.

Source: Official Gazette, Volume No. 452, Number 168, September 10, 2026, Legislative Body, pp. 3-5 (official reference: Decree No. 653).