The way in which the plenary in Congress was developed and culminated on April 29, weakness in the Board of Directors to control the plenary, the lack of results that the legislature will have this year for the benefit of the country, and the intention that the population forgets the salary increase of the deputies, analysts indicate.
Prior to Holy Week, the plenary sessions were not carried out because the bench leaders did not appear to the session to plan the legislative agenda, with the intention of preventing the repeal of the repeal of the salary increase of the parliamentarians. Last Tuesday, when the approval of several points was planned, the session was lifted due to lack of agreements, which caused an altercation between two parliamentarians.
For María del Carmen Aceña, a member of the efficient Congress, with everything that happened in the plenary of April 29, a struggle of powers and a “weakness” is denoted in the Board of Directors, as well as the lack of vision of the Executive for not promoting initiatives that can modernize the country.
Given this panorama, Aceña Avizora a “recomposition” of powers when considering that large benches are not satisfied with the work of the directive and the legislative agenda that you want to boost.
“The form is complex, but ending violently among women is denigrating,” he said.
Out of what happened in the recent plenary, Aceña argues that since there are no law of the bench or the Executive, a vacuum is created for Congress.
“Because the initiatives that arrive from the Executive are traditionally discussed, but there are no projects, so there is no vision where the Nation is going,” said the former Minister of Education.
He added: “Last year laws were approved but without technical studies and without financing. The majority of initiatives that arrive from the Executive have technical support and financing.”
The analyst is difficult for the deputies to reverse the salary increase, because the group of parliamentarians who defends it and that it will maintain its position will be greater, although this is the cause for which the disagreements arose.
To benefit the country, Aceña recommends reviewing the electoral law and political parties, approving the State contracting law and reviewing the collective pact of teachers.
Little efficient
According to the analyst on political issues Renzo Rosal, there is a political pulse in Congress that will remain the rest of the year and the work in the plenary will be of very little efficiency, if compared to 2024, when 36 decrees were approved.
“It is clear that there is the so -called opposition. You want to strengthen from the hand of deputies such as Allan Rodríguez and Álvaro Arzú, among others, but there is very little dynamic in Congress and let’s not forget that in between there is the whole issue of the increase in salary,” he emphasized.
Rosal believes that Congress wants to normalize the salary increase and that this period of sessions is now closed without this matter being addressed, and that in the following, which begins in August, the population has forgotten the increase.
“The objective of the opposition is not only to question and compete with power, but from there, try to reach the Executive, try to show that it is weak and that it becomes the political objective,” he said.
He added that, with that struggle of power, the opposition expresses the intention to create a parallel agenda proposal and that the physical confrontation between the two deputies is part of that pulse.
“It seems to me that Deputy Greicy, who is part of that opposition, caused the deputy of the ruling party, and unfortunately she fell into the trap,” she said.
The analyst maintains that the opposition wants to increase its political weight in Congress, even in the face of the next 2026 events, in which the legislature plays an important role in the election of the Constitutional Court and the magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Court.
“This pulse is not only at the juncture, but they are thinking of impacting favorably for them in the correlation of next year’s processes, and if they could achieve 107 votes to be able to carry out a political trial against President Bernardo Arévalo, it could also be part of the goal,” he said.
Confrontation
Deputies Elena Motta and Greicy de León staged on April 29 an altercation in the hemicycle, after the plenary session in which several themes were planned to be planned, according to videos that the incidents captured.
Legislators had to know some points, among them, the repeal of the salary increase that parliamentarians were approved at the end of last year. However, the lack of agreements motivated the suspension of the session, which gave way to accusations between deputies.
This April 29 several deputies also confirmed to have received the deposit of their salary with the increase approved last November. With this, legislators have received for the third consecutive month economic benefit despite social criticisms and demands.
The deputies of the tenth legislature cost Guatemala, in just three months of almost Q30 million salaries. That is according to the data that reflect the salary payrolls of the legislative body.
Of the 160 deputies, 151 receive a monthly salary of Q61 thousand 300, taking a base salary of Q46 thousand 700, which is included a series of economic bonds, which increases the monthly payment for each deputy.