Only the Plenary of Congress can stop the salary increase of deputies. At least that responded a team of lawyers from the legislative body to a consultation made by the deputies that make up the Board of Directors.
The document identified as legal opinion 45-2025 dated March 27, two days after the Board of Directors promised in a press conference that would issue the order to suspend the increase.
Among the background evaluated to give their response is Legislative Agreement 31-2024, issued on November 26 of last year. When the deputies authorized their budget for this year including a salary increase that must be executed by the directive chaired by Deputy Nery Ramos.
They also detail Act 10-2025 dated February 4, when the directive made the decision to give the salary increase to the 160 deputies; and act 21-2025, when it was ordered to pay with the salary increase.
The consultation of the legal department of the Congress exposes points of the Constitution and of the Organic Law of the Legislative Agency to finally respond that “it does not correspond to the Board of Directors of the Congress of the Republic to suspend the content of a Board of Directors, since its content becomes a decision made by the Plenary of the Congress”.
The answer adds that the only way to suspend the salary increase executed by the current Board of Directors is by issuing a new agreement.
Some deputies such as José Chic De will Opportunity and Solidarity (VOS) and the Block of Independent Deputies elected by Semilla Movement have announced their intentions in seeking to promote a motion for a new agreement. But Congress has not met in three weeks because of the absence of block leaders that prevent the sessions from calling.
Well -off opinion
For Manfredo Marroquín, founder of Citizen Action, the legal opinion of Congress is not objective. Since it was issued by own Congress personnel working for deputies.
“Legal opinions are accommodated to the interests of the institution. In this case we are all clear that a political exit is needed to reverse that increase in salary, but there really is no political will,” he said.
For Marroquín, the promise made by the Board of Directors of the Congress, to suspend the increase in salary, should be respected. Since not doing so seem that his posture was just to contrast social pressure.
“The Board of Directors has already lost the direction of this State agency, integrate directive but is unable to gather support and consensus to approve a measure as it is. They only speak what politically suits them when there is citizen pressure.”
Citizen Action maintains two amparos against the salary increase pending to be resolved, as well as Deputy Chic, who expect the new president of the Constitutional Court (CC), to prioritize cases.
“We hope that the CC resolves this type of shares, in fact the president of the Court, Leyla Lemus, said that these actions will be known and hope that the deputy said.
For the congressman, the Board of Directors should execute the suspension of the salary increase as promised in the press rue on March 25.
“The presidential euphoria played a bad pass to President Nery Ramos. In fact, those who operated the increase via minutes was the directive, I do not know how that legal opinion was requested but I believe that the Board of Directors should honor his word and what he promised that afternoon,” he concluded.
The legal consultation is signed by the following lawyers: Mario Giovanni Ignacio Santos, member of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against the impunity (FECI) of Juan Francisco Sandoval; Lilian del Carmen Morán Grijalva, who according to press records was captured by a case of the Cadastral Information Registry (RIC); and Boris Iván Mendoza Álvarez, who appeared as director of the three municipal firefighters.