President Bernardo Arévalo will carry out the election of the new attorney general and head of the Public Ministry (MP) in the coming days. who on May 17 will replace Consuelo Porras, who has held the position for the last eight years.
According to sources close to the General Secretariat of the Presidency, the files will be evaluated by the president starting next week. This is because during these days you still have several activities on your work agenda.
The Secretary General of the Presidency, Juan Gerardo Guerrero, received the list, as well as the files of the six candidates, on April 21, from the nomination commission, which prepared the list on April 20.
“By constitutional mandate, the change to be made is on May 17, so probably in that week, prior to May 17, we will know who will be the person designated by the president of the Republic of Guatemala,” Guerrero stated when receiving the payroll.
Will conduct interviews
The president assured that the same day that the nomination committee prepared the final list that, upon having the list of the six candidates to occupy the position of attorney general, it will carry out several procedures to know in detail the career of each of the professionals. In that sense, He stated that he will interview the candidates who are considered most suitable or who meet the requirements to occupy the position.
“This obviously implies an interview with those candidates who are considered suitable in a first review based on the files. From there it will be identified which candidates have a probability and who respond to the criteria that the presidency has in the need for independent, objective, accurate and effective justice and those will be the people who will be interviewed,” said Arévalo.
With these interviews, the president will learn about the work plans, as well as details of the professional, academic and service career. of each of the applicants. This, with the objective of making a decision in accordance with the constitutional principles and independence required by the position and function at the head of the investigative entity, stated the sources consulted.
For its part, the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency reported that, upon receipt of the payroll, the governor will evaluate the files in accordance with the provisions of the law.
“The President of the Republic has received the corresponding payroll and will proceed to evaluate the files with the seriousness and responsibility that the position demands, in order to exercise the constitutional mandate conferred on him by article 251 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala,” it was indicated.
They will not influence the president’s decision
In Congress, the pro-government deputies José Carlos Sanabria, who represents the line of the canceled Semilla Movement, and Samuel Perez, who heads the line of the Raíces party in formation, They stated that it is not up to the deputies of the official bloc to influence the president’s decision on the appointment of the new attorney general.
“I believe that this is a decision of the president, he has already officially received the list. I understand that he is analyzing what proceeds at this moment, but he will make the decision, he is going to evaluate the candidates and is obviously looking for a profile that seeks to recover the institutionality of the Public Ministry from the deterioration and wear and tear and damage that Consuelo Porras did, and in that sense he will seek to make the decision,” Sanabria indicated.
For his part, deputy Samuel Pérez highlighted in the first instance that Attorney General Consuelo Porras has not been included in the final payroll. He also stated that the president’s decision must be based on constitutional principles and focused on recovering the institutionality of the Public Ministry.
“It is important to celebrate the fact that Consuelo Porras is not there. I think that is one of the most important milestones that this period of government will have. I do not doubt that he –Arévalo– is going to choose a person who is similar to the vision and principles that we have defended. So it is not an issue that worries me much. The decision is in the hands of the president and yes, that is how it should be,” he stated.
Changes to the MP law
Pérez also assured that, with the appointment of the new attorney general by the president, It is the right time to resume the discussion to modify the organic law of the Public Ministry.
“I believe that this also has to open space to have a discussion about the organic law of the Public Ministry, specifically in the part of appointment and removal of the attorney general, which right now is protected at one end and we must ensure that it is in compliance with the Constitution, because the president is the one who appoints and that he is the one who can also remove,” Pérez indicated.
However, he assured that By the deputies of the official bloc this matter will not be addressed in Congress, since, as he indicated, it must be done in a general consensus between different sectors of society.
“I don’t think that we are going to move that particularly, but that it should be a broad consensus, not only of the deputies, but of Guatemalan society in general, to choose a democratic model as happens in other countries, for example, that Congress nominates and that the president is the one who decides, but continuing to politicize spaces such as universities or the bar association is inappropriate for political appointments such as the attorney general,” he assured.
In 2024, Both Pérez and Sanabria unsuccessfully lobbied for the approval of a bill proposed by the Executive in May of that year, which sought to return to the President of the Republic the power to dismiss the attorney general. Later, in December 2024, the official bench also presented a proposal in the same sense, which also did not obtain the support of the different legislative blocks.
Will not give an opinion
The Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, who was excluded within the attorney general election process, He stated that he has filed legal actions on this issue that must be resolved. He also assured that he “will no longer issue an opinion” regarding the election process for the new attorney general.
“The application process has already passed, I have already proposed the pertinent actions, I am not going to comment further on this issue because it is already in the hands of justice and eventually if the courts decide not to agree with me, then it will be the president who will have to say who will be the attorney general,” said Villeda.