Although some have presented excuses or licenses, ten deputies are among those who have accumulated the most absences in the 17 plenary sessions convened between February and April, in a context marked by the salary increase that the legislators themselves were approved and by the growing political tension Within the hemicycle.
While the legislative agenda stagnates due to lack of consensus and meetings, and verbal and even physical confrontations scales between banks, ten deputies stand out for registering the greatest number of absences, according to data from the Alliance for an efficient congress.
The list is headed by Deputy César Augusto Amézquita del Valle, of the Vision with Values (Viva) party, with nine absences. It is followed by José Inés Castillo Martínez, of the National Unit of Hope (UNE), and José Luis Galindo de León, of value, both with eight absences. With seven fouls, Esduín Jerson Javier Javier, “Tres Baws”, representative of the Change Party for Chiquimula.
With six absences, six other congressmen appear: Fidel Reyes Lee (good); José Orlando Pérez Marroquín (INDP – Semilla); Nadia Lorena de León Torres (we); Danilo Madrazo Mazariegos and Felipe Alejos Lorenzana (both of all); and Ervin Adim Maldonado Molina (UNE).
Among the deputies who responded to give their position is Inés Castillo, although he only indicated by text message that “he had no information from the data.”
By the same medium, Esduín Javier replied: “They could be more – the absent deputies – because I don’t know when it was the last day that Congress worked; the truth, until shame it gives me to be a deputy with what is happening in Congress.”
It was tried to obtain the position of deputy César Augusto Amézquita del Valle, who heads the absence list. However, he indicated that he had no cell phone signal and that he would attend on another occasion. According to the Alliance Report, of the total of plenary absences, it has only submitted two excuses. In that sense, the total number of excuses or licenses to be absent adds 313, among the 160 deputies.
“Until shame gives me to be a deputy with what is happening in Congress.”
Essuín Javier Javier, Change Party.
Of the 160 congressmen, 17 attended all the meetings held between February and April, the period of validity of the increase. As of February, the congressmen accrued a Increased salary, ranging from Q61 300 to Q97 300which correspond to the president of the Board of Directors, Nery Ramos.
Disagreements mark sessions
In recent weeks, the Congress of the Republic has faced a legislative paralysis due to the absence of deputies to the plenary sessions and meetings of block chiefs. This situation has prevented progress on key issues, such as the repeal of the salary increase approved for legislators and the designation of a new member in the Board of Directors, after the order of the Constitutional Court (CC) that obliges the Congress directive to inform about the separation of deputy Karina Paz of the Will Block Will, Opportunity and Solidarity (you).
The absence of deputies has been justified by some with arguments such as road blockages or commitments outside the country. However, this inactivity has generated criticism both inside and outside Congress. Parliamentarians allied to the ruling indicate that the lack of consensus and the pressure on the Board of Directors have contributed to this situation, while civil society sectors have expressed their outrage due to the salary increase and lack of legislative work.
In addition, indigenous and ancestral authorities have expressed their rejection of the salary increase of the deputies, qualifying it as a mockery towards the people of Guatemala. In a statement they expressed indignation and announced inspection actions towards legislators. They demanded the immediate repeal of the increase and pointed out the lack of sensitivity of the deputies before the needs of the country.
On April 7, prior to Holy Week, they already added two weeks without sessions in the Plenary, due to the insistence of the congressmen to plan the agenda.
Expectation before the recess
For deputy Cristian Álvarez, the issue of salary increase went to the background and rules out that legislators can reverse it. However, he argues that, following disagreements for “political power”, Congress will not meet in the next two weeks.
“Because they already unmasked. We took 60 votes who vote in favor of reversing the salary, but there are already enough people who already assumed the political cost of not wanting to download it. And it already does not matter again and again to repeal the salary; if there are no votes, nothing will happen. The fight is the political control of the congress what we are talking about,” he said.
For Álvarez, the president of Congress, Nery Ramos, does not have the strength or votes to stop the plan that the opposition brings, which is to weaken the Board of Directors.
“We see small matches that we are allies, but we do not have so many votes. They want to take commissions from the allies, starting with the Finance Commission to the President, to the Cabal Party. They want to put a secretary not related to the Board of Directors. They want to remove the deputy Manuel Archila from the Monetary Board to remove him from the Social Security Board of Directors of the Social Security,” he said.
He added: “The Finance Commission is very important because there is a budget there and the following Board of Directors will be defined. That is why they want to move the Cabal Party, which would build a budget related to President Arévalo and the new Board of Directors. If they lose it, the other group has the possibility of winning the Board of Directors. What the President will deal with at all costs is not to meet this week and the other, to maintain the permanent commission.”
The parliamentarian states that there is no legal way to summon the sessions of the Congress without the president of the same, and considers that the opposition’s commitment will be to present an amparo in the Constitutional Court to point out that the recent session was made in a wrong way and should be repeated. They could also argue that it is urgent to meet Karina Paz’s substitute in the first Secretariat of the Board of Directors, to force to meet.
The deputy, Luis Aguirre of the Cabal party, said that next week they will continue in the search for consensus.
Percentages
Fernando Bon, executive director of the Alliance for an efficient Congress, said that this year Congress records an assistance greater than 80%, which they qualify as positive. However, he pointed out that there are deputies that have low percentages of assistance, with participations in less than 60% or 70% of the sessions.
“This attracts attention. In recent weeks we cannot do such a strict analysis, because they have not left; in April there were two sessions,” he said, although he indicated that no greater results were achieved.
He added that the deputies have a month to present a license or excuse to absent, although they do not always. There are also congressmen who do it after not going to the plenary.