After an intense work session, the postulator from the Public Ministry (MP) finished qualifying the applicants, being forced to reschedule the integration of the list of six candidates for attorney general for next week.
Of the 48 candidates who were qualified with the grading table that measures academic preparation, professional experience and ethics, Only nine achieved a grade higher than 75 points.
The commissioners agreed that grade as the minimum for an applicant to be eligible for the payroll, every time there were at least 12 professionals with that qualification.
But the low scores of the lawyers who aspire to lead the MP meant that the candidate had to lower the cut-off line, in order to have at least a dozen options for the list of six candidates.
The postulator had scheduled to make the list of candidates this Friday, April 17, but the setbacks that occurred in the qualification of candidates meant that the commission had to change its schedule.
They set the payroll integration date for Monday, April 20, as had originally been agreed by the commissioners in the first work sessions.
The payroll and dominant group
The list of the six candidates will be delivered to President Bernardo Arévalo, who must appoint the new attorney general for the period 2026-2030, whose term must begin on May 17.
For an applicant to become a candidate and be part of the final list, they need to have at least the vote in favor of 10 of the 15 professionals who make up the nomination committee.
Until now, a group has been identified as the “dominant” group, according to the candidate’s latest votes, which concluded with approving a low rating for the Minister of the Interior, Marco Antonio Villeda, thus practically leaving the official candidate out of the process.
Applicant accepts a grade of 41.86 from Marco Antonio Villeda, being ineligible for the list of candidates for Attorney General. The key vote was from Mario García, from URural. The others are from CSJ, Court of Honor of Cang, URegional, West, UFM, USan Pablo, USAC, UPANA and U DaVinci pic.twitter.com/VDdMeKD0mx
—Douglas Cuevas (@dcuevas_pl) April 18, 2026
This dominant group is made up of Claudia Paredes, president of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and president of the commission; Alicia Franco, president of the Court of Honor of the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala (Cang).
They are accompanied by deans from seven universities: Luis Lepe; Regional University; José González, University of the West; Arturo Saravia, Francisco Marroquín University (UFM); Luis Aragón, San Pablo University; Henry Arriaga, USAC; Mario García, Rural University; Enrique Sánchez Usera, Pan American University; and José Andrés Reyes, DaVinci University.
The other group maintains five commissioners: Patricia Gámez, president of the Cang Board of Directors; Nery Anleu, Mesoamerican University; Pablo Maldonado, University of the Istmo; Julio Cordón, Rafael Landívar University (URL); and Luis Ruano, Mariano Gálvez University (UMG).
Those eligible
- María Consuelo Porras – 92.33 points
- César Augusto Ávila Aparicio – 92.13 points
- Brenda Dery Muñoz Sánchez – 90.86 points
- Julio Rivera Clavería – 88.93 points
- Walter Paulino Jiménez Tejax – 86.73 points
- Gabriel Estuardo García Luna – 86.21 points
- Néctor Guilebaldo de León Ramírez – 79.69 points
- José Manuel Quinto Martínez – 79 points
- Henry Alejandro Elías Wilson – 76.85 points