The Nomination Commission for Attorney General qualified Marco Antonio Villeda, current Minister of the Interior, giving him a score of 41.86 out of 100, making him ineligible for the final list of six candidates.
The current holder of the Interior portfolio arrived at the end of last year as part of President Bernardo Arévalo’s cabinet, requesting licenses from the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) to occupy the position, as he is a career judge.
The plenary session of the Judiciary allowed him a license to take on the duties of minister, which was recently extended for one more year to continue in office and not lose his position as judge.
Villeda is one of the most recognized judges in the country, obtaining much of that popularity for his years of practice at the head of the Asset Forfeiture court.
After spending a few months at the head of the Ministry of the Interior, he made the decision to run for attorney general, a decision that, as he acknowledged, he spoke with President Arévalo, having his support.
But an apparent formal error in his file means he is being left out of the selection process for candidates for attorney general, because he is not registered as a lawyer before the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ).
The evaluation
On the academic side, Marco Antonio Villeda accredited a master’s degree in criminal law; practice as a university teacher; managed to certify participation in academic events; publications and academic distinctions, which allowed him to accredit 24 points.
In professional practice, documents were presented that prove his experience as a judge, but the agreed weighting will begin from the moment he appears registered as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), according to the criteria decided by the applicants.
In the case of Villeda, he was not registered until this year, which resulted in a grade of zero points for a good part of his professional practice; later documents that did allow proving his years as a judge, plus the psychometric test, allowing 17.86 out of 70 points.
Some commissioners have doubts about the process, and agreed to request a report, within one hour, from the corresponding area of the CSJ in charge of these processes.