After the Board of Directors of the Congress suspended the salary increase, it is now sought that legislative agreement 31-2024, which approves the budget of the legislative body for that increase, is repealed. The road is difficult, because although some parliamentarians claim that there will be quorum for the next session, convened for this Thursday, March 27, others argue that there is uncertainty and that in the full “everything can happen.”
This Wednesday, March 26, several social sectors were added to demand that the agreement be repealed definitively, through the parliamentary route.
The articulation of the Mayan people Mam de Quetzaltenango, for example, in a statement requested that the deputies rectify their position; He also expressed his rejection of pointing out that “only to suspend the salary increase of the deputies, far from reflecting a measure of justice and equity, evidences the lack of sensitivity towards the needs of the people of Guatemala.”
“We demand the immediate repeal of this excessive increase and without justification, considering it a mockery, while the majority of the population continues to face serious inequalities and deficiencies,” they said.
The alliance for an efficient Congress also spoke in the same line of ideas and in a statement he said that “words have value when they translate into concrete actions that respond to the rejection of the population.”
Through a pronouncement in social networks, the association of 48 cantons of Totonicapán also announced that they leave as a term until March 28 to repeal that benefit and declared themselves in permanent meeting.
On Tuesday, March 25, The Board of Directors of the Congress announced that the salary increase of Q46 thousand base was suspended because it had caused division between the benches and had brought the legislative agenda. They also argued that the decision responded to the demands of citizenship.
Expectation
The vote in the plenary to repeal the article that allows the salary increase to the deputies will not be easy, and this is warned by some deputies who yesterday agreed to give statements. Most did not attend the calls and messages left to their cell phone.
Deputy Luis Aguirre, of the Cabal Party, who on March 26 accompanied the press conference of the president of Congress Nery Ramos, in which the suspension of the salary increase was announced, said that they will support the repeal of the agreement and that they expect the same provision of the rest of parliamentarians.
“We hope there is quorum, because the strategy of the other deputies is not to attend the plenary so as not to know that, but that would be irresponsibility,” he said.
What will happen if there is no quorum in the next sessions, scheduled for today and next Tuesday, the parliamentarian said he has to know in the plenary and will be repealed. “
According to Congressman Nery Rodas, there will be enough support from other banks, arguing that it is what corresponds, because in the end “who gave the order to the Board of Directors was the Plenary, then now the Board of Directors has to return to Plenary.”
“I would believe that at this point the votes have to be, but with the full nothing is written and now you have to wait for the moment,” he said.
Rhodes warned that if the issue is not known in the Plenary, the Board of Directors could incur an illegality.
It is still valid
For Congressman José Chic, of the VOS party, if the agreement authorizes the salary increase is not repealed, the Board of Directors could be retracted from the suspension and reactivate it, so that it remains in force even if the payments are not realized and it is essential that the article is known and annulled in the Plenary.
From the beginning what the Board of Directors did was get entangled when the act 10 issued, where the increase approves. Then, now that they suspended the increase, they will surely issue a new act to leave the act 10 and act 21 without effect, he said.
Chic, who had already acted before the Constitutional Court and in the Comptroller General of Accounts against the Increase, considers that the best is to repeal the agreement to lose validity. Otherwise, the Board of Directors could reverse the decision through another minutes.
“Who can reverse it is only the Board of Directors, and he already did it once. The Board of Directors created a mechanism that is not legal and that was in question before the Constitutional Court,” he said.
According to parliamentarian Cristian Álvarez, of the commitment, renewal and order party (I think), the benefit is not suspended, as announced by the Board of Directors, and it is the Plenary who must decide.
“That implies that, to revoke the increase, it has to be known in Congress, the agreement must be repealed and prepared by which the Board of Directors restores the previous salary to the increase,” he said.
“You have to get out of this topic that should never have been given and return to the daily discussions that are entrusted,” Álvarez added.
Regarding whether there will be enough support in the Plenary, Álvarez said there must be, although he acknowledged that he does not know if there is an agreement for that to happen.
“The deputies who voted in favor have already had to understand that the thing is not going there, so I imagine that there will be quorum. It also happens that, with all this noise, nobody wants to appear; believe that it is now against it,” he said.
Deputy Sonia Gutiérrez Raguay interprets that, if the Board of Directors suspended the approval act, the increase is suspended.
“Because it was the document that materialized the increase, of course with the approval of 85 deputies. It would be best to close the process, voting the agreement in the plenary, in response to what people request,” he said.
Misleading action
For the Rosal Rosal analyst, the refusal to repeal the agreement will only send the message that the majority of deputies do not agree with the suspension. However, he considers that the position of not accepting said increase must be ratified; Otherwise, social discontent could be generated.
“In fact, the payment has been made.
Rosal said that the Board of Directors’s decision was not internal, but clearly responded to the pressure exerted by the citizens.
“The suspension may still seem misleading action. What we want is to move from the suspension to the final cancellation,” he said.