The political pulse in the nomination commission for attorney general and head of the Public Ministry (MP) will be put to the test this Thursday, day on which the last 22 candidates are expected to qualify.
The attorney general renewal process left 48 professionals in the running, after some were left out for not presenting all the documents and one more who resigned for personal reasons.
The qualification given by the applicant is vital for the process, because only those lawyers who reach the minimum grade of 75 points, the so-called “cutoff line”, will be considered to be part of the list of six candidates for attorney general.
But the qualification process that is done through a grading table, a tool that measures academic, professional and ethical aspects, has exposed the rigor of the qualification.
Last Monday and Tuesday the commission evaluated 26 files, but of those only five professionals reached the minimum grade of 75 points, while the other 21 would be temporarily out of the process.
The commission could reconsider the cut-off line before voting to draw up the list of candidates if few professionals reach the desired 75 points, which would give an opportunity to some of those who are now excluded due to low qualifications.
“At the rate they are going, it is very likely that they will have to lower the cut-off line. And, ultimately, the problem remains that the sum of points is based primarily on the file, barely 10 points were given to the interview, which is more real, more important,” said Pablo Muñoz, from the Alliance for Reforms.
Does age matter?
Although the commission modified the grading table after public warnings that the grading table privileged age, in practice, Alianza por las Reformas considers that those who are older have had better grades.
“Strictly speaking and for practical purposes, yes, since clearly the experience is accumulated and is recorded in years of practicing the profession, public service, etc.” Munoz said.
The observer did not classify as negative or positive the fact that few applicants reach the cut-off line, but considers that the commissioners, in some cases, tend to be strict in the qualification.
“The parameters were previously known, but it happens that there are flaws in the accreditation of some elements (by the applicants) and also a rigor, sometimes subjective and questionable, on the part of the commissioners,” said the observer.
The last evaluated
For the last qualification session, before preparing the list of six candidates, the commission has to evaluate 22 professionals, including the current attorney general, María Consuelo Porras.
The current head of the MP has been at the head of the investigative entity for two terms. The first of them when she was appointed by President Jimmy Morales, and then she was re-elected during the government of Alejandro Giammattei.
Although the dispute he has with President Bernardo Arévalo, who makes the direct appointment, is evident, Porras seeks to obtain a position on the list of candidates and be an option for the president.
This despite the fact that the president has already declared that the current head of the MP, although she is on the list of candidates, has no possibility of being appointed for a third term.
Porras has been sanctioned internationally for being described by international governments as an “anti-democratic” actor, in part due to investigations that suggested apparent fraud in the 2023 elections.
Another profile that is about to be evaluated is that of Judge Marco Antonio Villeda, who currently serves as Minister of the Interior, after obtaining a license from the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ).
Although the judge is part of Arévalo’s government cabinet, he did not participate in the campaign nor is he part of the political ranks of the ruling party, being a profile that has been in the Judiciary in recent years.
Villeda was a judge of the Asset Forfeiture Court and during his administration he immobilized and extinguished large amounts of money, vehicles and real estate belonging to politicians and businessmen accused of corruption.
The postulator who will have to qualify the last candidates is made up of 15 professionals: president of the CSJ; presidents of the Board of Directors and the Court of Honor of the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Cang); and 12 law school deans.
Decision-making is made with at least 10 votes in favor of those 15 commissioners, and if the majority considers it appropriate, they could reduce the cut-off line if at the end of the evaluations they have few options to make up the final list of candidates for attorney general.
They reach 75 points
- Gabriel Estuardo García Luna – 86.21
- Henry Elias Wilson – 76.85
- Néctor Guilebaldo de León Ramírez – 79.69
- José Manuel Quinto – 79
- Brenda Dery Muñoz Sánchez de Molina – 90.86