The salary increase for deputies continues to raise rejection. Meanwhile, in Congress, they resist reversing the rise, although it has no technical foundations, according to three institutions of legislative control and monitoring: Visible Guatemala, the National Economic Research Center (one hundred) and National Civic Movement (MCN).
Since last February, the deputies accrue a base salary of Q46 thousand 700, to which bonuses, diets and other privileges with which they already had.
The increase for deputies was born with the approval of the Congress budget for 2025, when they introduced an article to match their salary to the magistrates.
None of the three entities consulted that monitor the legislative work considers that there are arguments for a congressman to earn the same as a senior judge.
They are not evaluated
The legislators’ work cannot be quantified, as can be that of a magistrate or any other worker, according to Marielos Fuentes, executive director of Guatemala visible.
“The working days in Congress cannot be measured with schedules. In an alliance for an efficient congress we analyze assists, but they do not even reach 100% of the sessions, ”Fuentes explained.
He added that legislative production – that is, initiatives presented or new laws – is not an indicator to measure performance. “As it is legislated, (this) does not translate into improvements in the country,” said Fuentes.
“We see, for example, that the Electoral Affairs Commission worked on an opinion, but it was one that has nothing of what citizens requested,” he said.
No preparation
The deputies achieved their salary increase to match the magistrates of appeal cutting, but they do not have the same profile as justice operators, according to Francisco Quezada’s analysis, of one hundred.
“The magistrates are professionals, with experience, additional studies; The purification of a commission competes with a resume, they have supervision and performance evaluation, but a deputy does not go through any of that. Just being 18 years old can already be applied, they do not yield, do not evaluate them to know who is more competent than another, ”said Quezada.
In his opinion, although the officials went out to say that they would resign from their increase, the decision went through all the legislators.
“The deputies who retract and before public opinion try to cover the sun with one finger,” they do, because they know that their proposal is very difficult, they never opposed; They are experts in the networks but right now with that issue they have been silent, ”he said.
They are shielded in the CC
The argument of the officials was that they have not legally operated against the increase because there are pending actions in the Constitutional Court (CC). However, this argument is not accepted by the interviewees, who consider this version as an excuse to do nothing.
“It is a case that reflects the poverty of management capacity of our politicians in general. Here everything goes to court and delays a society where politicians do not comply with doing politics; The courts are not to do politics, ”said Fuentes.
Another issue that could seek this lack of action, according to Quezada, is that congressmen want the CC to stay with social rejection due to the increase in salaries that they themselves approved.
“The CC is not to solve all the problems that arise, even they already set a mechanism. The CC is only when there is some constitutional order, not for an administrative issue. The deputies want the Court to receive wear instead of them, ”he said.
They look for signatures
Christist Walters, representative of the MCN, said they also reject the increase, because there is no single technical argument that justifies an increase in that type.
Now, they seek from social networks to collect signatures and ask for documents to the deputies to retract the decision.
By 19 yesterday they already had more than 1,500 signatures. That is, nine times more than the total number of deputies that make up the Plenary of Congress.
But that organism was already clear that he does not want to reverse the increase. The Legal Department of the Legislative sent a report to the CC to request not to give a provisional protection that seeks to cancel the new salary.
At the moment, the CC has two legal actions that seek to cancel the provision.
The organization @MCnguatemala Ask for citizens signatures to deliver to @CongresOguate A formal request for deputies to cancel their salary increase. With this increase now the president of Congress wins more than Q90 thousand per month.@prensa_librehttps://t.co/l98eyunhtb
– Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_gtv) March 4, 2025