Judge Leyla Lemus assumed the presidency of the Constitutional Court (CC) on April 16. A little over a week in office, he appointed two people who exercised public function during the government of Alejandro Giammattei in administrative positions.
The CC strategic communication unit confirmed the appointments and pointed out that, in contracts, the selection processes established by law were respected.
Lemus was appointed head of the CC in 2021 by then President Alejandro Giammattei. Before his appointment, from January 2020 to March 2021, he served as General Secretary of the Presidency, during the Government Government, and presided over the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Public Administration, in accordance with the resume published on the CC page. She was also director of Legal Affairs of the Comptroller General of Accounts and is a teacher at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala.
As the new administrative director of the CC was appointed Álvaro Gerardo Díaz Coronado, while Adriana Alfaro assumed the Human Resources Department.
Díaz Coronado, by Economist Profession, was a manager of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) between 2021 and 2023, during the administration of Giammattei.
Álvaro Gerardo Díaz Coronado, recently appointed as Administrative Director of the Constitutional Court (CC), is the son of Álvaro Leonel Díaz Velásquez, who was secretary of the Executive Commission of the Presidency and Director of Evaluation and Monitoring in the missing Center of Government, entity directed by Miguel Martínez.
During his management as manager of the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP), Díaz Coronado was denounced by a worker for workplace harassment. Among the lawyers who exercised their defense is Adriana Alfaro, who now heads the Human Resources Department of the CC.
Defend appointments
Since before Leyla Lemus assumed the presidency of the Constitutional Court (CC), some analysts warned about their links with the political structure that led Alejandro Giammattei to the presidency, and anticipated that great changes would not be observed within the highest court, after the period of Nester Vásquez, who presided over the Court in 2024-2025.
When the strategic communication unit of the CC is consulted by the recent appointments of people close to the administration of the former president, it was indicated that the selection process complied with the legal standards.
“The CC acts with total attachment to the principles of legality, transparency and autonomy. The selection of the new administrative director and the Human Resources Director was carried out in accordance with the procedures established in the internal regulations of the institution, the Manual of Standards and Procedures Contracts and Personnel Movements, evaluating the experience, suitability and capabilities of the candidates to exercise such positions,” the unit said.
They added: “Mr. Álvaro Díaz was a manager of the INAP in the 2021 to 2023; it should be noted that the INAP is a decentralized and semi -autonomous institution, whose superior authority is the Board of Directors of the Institute.”
On Alfaro, they explained that “it was considered for the position of director of Human Resources, taking into account that, in addition to being a lawyer and notary, she has a master’s degree in Labor Law and whose Expertis It has been the management of human resources in public institutions, being its last employers the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture in the 2024 and 2025 ”.
With those background, the Court remarked that the two people “gather the qualities, powers and experience to contribute in the administrative management of the Court,” the unit concluded.