Saúl Enrique Mancía

Saúl Enrique Mancía (born 1983 or 1984) is a Salvadoran politician and communications specialist who has served as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from the department of Chalatenango since 2021. He serves as a member of the agriculture commission and the public works, transportation, and housing commission. Mancía is a member of Nuevas Ideas.

Early life

Saúl Enrique Mancía was born in 1983 or 1984.

Mancía graduated from the University of El Salvador in 2014 as a Bachelor of Journalism. Mancía and José Raúl Hernández Maldonado published a joint thesis regarding the 2012–2014 Salvadoran gang truce on 26 August 2014.

From October 2009 to August 2012, Mancía worked as a general producer for National Television of El Salvador. From October 2013 to February 2014, he worked as a producer for Channel 29.

Early political career

From May 2009 to May 2012, Mancía served as an alderman on the San Ignacio municipal council as a member of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front.

Deputy of the Legislative Assembly

Mancía ran as a candidate for deputy to the Legislative Assembly from the department of Chalatenango during the 2021 legislative election. He ran as a candidate from Nuevas Ideas and was the party's second candidate in Chalatenango, after Francisco Alexander Guardado Deras. During his campaign, Mancía criticized the political opposition in the Legislative Assembly for its reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and for blocking Bukele's political agenda within the legislature. He also claimed that the incumbent deputies from Chalatenango "have never represented the department and have never carried out actions which really benefited the department's population" (""). Mancía was elected as a deputy on election day and Krissa Osiris Marín Jiménez was elected as Mancía's supplement deputy.

Mancía is a permanent member of the agriculture commission and the public works, transportation, and housing commission, on which he holds the position of orator; Mancía was also a member of an ad hoc commission to study and draft the Water Resources Law in June 2021. Regarding the law, he stated that its objective was to guarantee that every community in El Salvador had access to drinking water. In April 2022, the Legislative Assembly approved a bill which was proposed by Mancía which increased penalties for individuals who steal livestock. Mancía supports the expansion of Uber or public transportation methods similar to Uber within El Salvador, stating in January 2023 that its expansion "is necessary" ("") for the "modernization" ("") of the country's public transportation system. On 13 June 2023, Mancía voted to reduce the number of municipalities in El Salvador from 262 to 44. Before the law was approved, he proposed an amendment to the bill—which had been proposed by Bukele on 1 June—to reassign the district of San Fernando from Chalatenango Norte to Chalatenango Centro. Although he did not give a reason for the amendment, it was approved regardless.

During Nuevas Ideas' July 2023 primary elections ahead of the 2024 legislative election, Mancía was elected as the party's first of two candidates for Chalatenango's two seats (In June 2023, the Legislative Assembly voted to reduce the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly from 84 to 60.) As a result, Chalatenango's seat count was reduced from 3 to 2. On 13 February 2024, after vote counting for the legislative election had been delayed by the Supreme Electoral Court due to technical issues, the TSE announced that Mancía had won one of Chalatenango's legislative seats and the National Coalition Party's Reynaldo Cardoza won the second seat; Mancía won 19,282 marks. Mancía is the orator of the health, agriculture, and environment commission.

Personal life

Mancía is married. In May 2022, he and his wife took out a US$111,000 loan from the Mortgage Bank to purchase a plot of land in San Salvador.

Electoral history

Year Office Type Party Main opponent Party Votes for Mancía Result Swing Total % . 2021 Deputy of the Legislative Assembly General NI N/A 14,059 N/A 3rd N/A Gain 2024 Deputy of the Legislative Assembly General NI N/A 19,282 N/A 1st N/A Hold

Publications

Mancía has authored one thesis:

Qualitative Content Analysis: The Construction of the "Truce with the Gangs" Concept in the Journalistic Information of the "Nation" Section of La Prensa Gráfica (2014, University of El Salvador; )