Once again, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) and the executive authorities are in a confrontation. This time, it was the Attorney General’s Office that filed a legal appeal in the Constitutional Court (CC) in which it requests, among other things, that four officials be removed from their posts and that President Bernardo Arévalo be investigated.
The MP’s arguments focus on the fact that such authorities are not complying with the protection granted by the High Court previously, in which it ratified the autonomy of the MP and recognized that there was a “real threat” against the entity. Therefore, it is asking for the dismissal of the general secretary, Juan Gerardo Guerrero, the general attorney, Julio Saavedra; the secretary of communication, Santiago Palomo and the Minister of Finance, Jonathan Menkos.
Now, the CC has to carry out an exhaustive analysis to ensure that the Constitution is respected, according to constituent Roberto Alejos, who added that the Court must be careful not to become part of these politically motivated confrontations.
“-the CC- has to be extremely careful in maintaining its mandate, which is to ensure that the official does not violate the Constitution, and not lend itself to an attempt to break governance and institutional order,” he said.
He considered that the resolution that the CC may have will depend entirely on the type of interpretation they make of the Constitution, the provisional protection granted to the MP and the arguments of due execution presented by the Prosecutor’s Office; Alejos recalls that the constitutional magistrates must be careful with the decision so that it does not break the constitutional mandate.
“When we talk about respecting the Constitution, we also talk about respecting the institutions, without breaking the constitutional order, because we must also take this into account, that its resolutions can lead to breaking an institutional order. The situation of the Court is delicate,” he said.
Regarding the request to remove the four officials from their posts, he recalled that it already happened on one occasion, during the government of Álvaro Colom, when a Minister of Education was removed from office because he did not comply with an information ordered by the CC.
Regarding the scope that the resolution could have and the effects of the constant confrontations with governability, the constituent commented that the Executive must continue with its functions of executing and working on government plans from the institutions, because these aspects have had repercussions from the attempts to remove the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras.
“That agenda (of the MP) has a strategy, a well-planned strategy, it has a solid team and they have great alliances that allow them to play with the issue,” he added.
Request for impeachment
At a press conference yesterday, President Bernardo Arévalo, Vice President Karin Herrera, along with the Government Cabinet and the Attorney General of the Nation, responded to the MP with a second request for impeachment against Consuelo Porras for abuse of authority and violation of the Constitution.
“I have filed a new preliminary indictment against Consuelo Porras for the crimes of violating the Constitution and abuse of authority. We urge the justice system not to continue being a victim of extortion and blackmail by a corrupt minority,” the president announced.
He also commented that the CC was asked to revoke the provisional protection granted on May 7, for which Porras filed the due execution.
“Today – August 1 – together with the Attorney General of the Nation, the CC was asked to revoke the provisional protection granted in favor of the Attorney General on May 7 of this year, considering that there is no threat of violations to the Constitution that Ms. Porras allegedly denounced and that there never was,” he said.
Arévalo maintained that Porras’ actions are due to his opposition to the fight against corruption and accountability, aspects on which the Executive is focusing, he said.
“Today we are witnessing an illegal and desperate attack led by the prosecutor Consuelo Porras from the Public Ministry. She is the main accomplice of this corrupt minority that refuses to bring about the change that all of Guatemala wants,” he reiterated.
It’s not against criticism
The MP, for its part, maintains that it is not that Porras is against being criticized, but that the attitude of the executive officials they point out could promote violent actions against her or the other prosecutors of the MP.
“An important issue is not that the Attorney General does not want to be criticized on social networks, due enforcement has nothing to do with that. The provisional protection granted to us is because they are using state resources to try to restrict the functional and economic autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and continue to arbitrarily and illegally take national and international political, financial and budgetary measures, as well as promoting other de facto measures that incite violence, actions that could lead to attacks against the physical integrity and life of both the Attorney General of the Republic and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Dr. María Consuelo Porras Argueta, as well as the institution’s officials,” the MP expanded at the request of Prensa Libre.
#Roberto #Alejos #dispute #Executive
