El Salvador consolidates local governments, opposition warns of power grab

FILE PHOTO: El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele delivers a speech to mark his fourth year in office, in San Salvador, El Salvador June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Jessica Orellana/File Photo

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Wednesday signed into law a bill to slash the country's 262 municipalities to just 44, a move the government says will cut spending but that the opposition decries as a power grab.

El Salvador's Congress passed the bill late on Tuesday with 67 votes in favor and 15 against.