Between Thursday and Friday of last week, President Bernardo Arévalo met with opposition deputies of the Congress of the Republic. The agenda item, according to the Executive and those who attended, was the governability of the country.
Some legislators who participated in these meetings with the president and who omitted his name, indicated that the meetings have not been successful. The last meeting, as confirmed by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency, took place last Friday.
“This is aimed at discussing the work between the Executive and the Legislative,” said the secretariat. In addition, they confirmed that the guests are deputies who make up the Vamos, National Unity of Hope (UNE), Vision with Values and Cabal groups. Although these are not legislators who lead blocks but are those who maintain a low profile within Congress.
Sources consulted in the Legislature confirmed the meetings between the ruler and opposition deputies. Some mentioned that one of the president’s main requests was to request a vote for Samuel Pérez, who seeks to be the titular representative of Congress before the Monetary Board (JM).
Along with Pérez, the UNE deputy, Luis Javier López, and the Cabal representative, Manuel Archila, make up the list of candidates, the latter two with more support to occupy the title and replacement in the JM. The other three candidates for the position are the congressman, Cristian Álvarez from the Commitment, Renewal and Order bench, the former deputy Fernando Linares-Beltranena and Henry Estuardo Castillo who was already head of the JM representing the University of San Carlos of Guatemala.
Yesterday, the heads of congressional blocks were notified by the Board of Directors that today’s meeting, where the topics on the legislative agenda for the sessions on Tuesday and Thursday are approved, are suspended.
Deputies who vote in alliance with those elected by the Semilla Movement showed their discomfort and confirmed that the decision was made because Pérez does not have the 81 votes required for the JM.
Meetings
UNE congressman Adim Maldonado, who coordinates a group of 24 legislators who are opponents of Sandra Torres, indicated that he and Inés Castillo did meet with President Arévalo on March 4. “The issue was governability and having a legislative agenda,” but they indicated that the executive promised to share it in the coming days.
Maldonado reconfirmed that Arévalo also met with the other faction of the UNE, led by Lourdes Teresita de León.
When consulted, deputy Héctor Aldana of VAMOS, an ally of Allan Rodríguez, assured that no legislator from the bench has met with President Arévalo. “These are rumors that seek to weaken the majority bloc of Congress,” he said.
He added that before supporting bills that come from the executive, VAMOS must know and analyze them, but initiatives that lack structure will not be supported. “We have learned from the press that a budget modification of Q 13 billion is coming, and not even they have had the ability to describe what they are going to spend that on,” he said.
The meetings between the president and the deputies have taken place in two spaces, some at the presidential house and others at the National Palace of Culture. This week the rapprochements will continue with other congressmen, including Cabal, according to advisors from said group and the UNE.
The opinions of Samuel Pérez and Andrea Villagrán, independent deputies elected by the Semilla Movement, as well as Lourdes Teresita de León, were sought, but they did not answer the calls.
President asks for support
Last Friday, March 15, following leaving the anniversary mass of Pope Francis’ pontificate, Arévalo was questioned regarding the meetings with the Vamos congressman, but he avoided answering the questions. Without giving further details, he explained that from the presidency there are initiatives to promote, in which he would hope that all the parties would join.
“We are going to present projects that are of general benefit and for this reason we hope that the entire Congress will join in supporting us,” said the president.
A source consulted in the presidency indicated that there are currently two projects that the executive seeks to promote, the first is the competition law and the other aimed at the approval of a budget readjustment.
Social agenda prevails
The Congress of the Republic has approved seven decrees and nine operative paragraphs. Although these do not reflect issues related to the governability of the country, but on the contrary social issues.
The last law approved was the Comprehensive Cancer Care Law and a resolution point to investigate the “terrorist act in Escuintla. Added to these are the laws on Biopsychosocial Certification of People with Disabilities, Organ Transplantation, reforms to the Alba-Keneth Law and Immediate Search for Women, National Day of Indigenous Languages, Credit Cards and Tax Exemption for the Foundation Help me Live.
In the plenary sessions, consensus was reached to approve several resolution points, among these: recognizing the country for its fierce defense of democracy, that the Ministry of Education analyze the School Health Insurance program, congratulations to Gaby Moreno, that it be taken care of the emergency of the Agua Volcano, as well as urging the Executive to instruct the Ministry of Defense through the Corps of Engineers to establish agreements with the municipalities to treat and work for the rehabilitation of local roads.
Address the Agua Volcano emergency, That the Executive be urged to instruct the Ministry of Defense to establish agreements with the municipalities to address issues of local roads,
In addition to not having consensus for the integration of the JM, pending on the agenda were the election of regular and alternate rapporteurs of the Office Against Torture, the reforms to the Law of Creation of the Institute of Recreation of the Workers of the Private Company of Guatemala (Irtra) and teleworking law.
No chairs
The deputies who were elected by the Semilla Movement have been left without key positions within Congress. They do not have a position within the Board of Directors, they cannot assist block heads and they do not chair work committees. The only position they have and that Deputy Pérez directs is the presidential table that works on a competition law.
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