This June 17, Gabriel Garcia Luna He has been at the head of the Public Ministry (MP) for a month and during that period he has made changes in different prosecutor’s offices and administrative directorates, although several appointments are still in process and some of the staff assure that they have not been formally notified about the new leadership.
The Department of Social Communication of the institution confirmed to Free press that still cannot provide information on who is in charge of some prosecutor’s offices and secretariats due to the restructuring that the MP is going through.
“At the moment it is not possible for us to transfer the requested information, because, as a result of various changes derived from the institutional restructuring, we are still waiting for the corresponding authorities to provide us and confirm the official information,” the institution responded.
A source close to the attorney general indicated that Some administrative processes have not yet been concluded due to administrative procedures.
Some of the people who will be in charge of the Secretariats of Women and Indigenous Peoples have already been selected although the names were not revealed. Five other secretariats are still pending changes.
So far they have been confirmed Esvin Santiago Chavajay as general secretary; Salvador Alberto Guzmán Cermeño as Secretary of Criminal Policy; Shirley Garcia Ovalle as Secretary of International Affairs and Cooperation; José Raúl López Lamadrid as national coordinator and Rony Lopez Galindo at the head of the Secretariat of Information Technology Affairs.
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Prosecutors report lack of information
Three heads of section prosecutors and two regional prosecutors consulted by Free presswho requested to keep their identity confidential, assured that they have not received official information about the changes made to the institution’s command structure.
According to those interviewed, during the administrations of Claudia Paz y Paz, Thelma Aldana and María Consuelo Porras it was common for the General Secretariat to notify the appointments of secretaries, regional prosecutors and other authorities through official letters or circulars.
“Notifications were always sent about who the secretary general and the new authorities were for any notification or requirement, but this new administration has not done so,” said one of the section heads consulted.
Another prosecutor’s office manager assured that the lack of information makes internal communication difficult.
“The Organic Law of the MP states that it is a hierarchical institution and if it is not clear who is in those positions, there is no knowledge of who the notifications or requirements can be submitted to.”
Those interviewed agreed that there is uncertainty within the institution. They also indicated that they do not know who holds some administrative positions.
Transfers without evaluations
Those interviewed also questioned some personnel movements made in recent weeks.
“There was no analysis of competencies and capabilities to transfer those in charge of the prosecutor’s offices,” added a section chief.
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Auxiliaries were informed about their immediate superiors
The situation is not the same in all prosecutor’s offices. Two fiscal assistants from different departments indicated that they were notified about changes related to their direct superiors, although not about the rest of the movements within the institutional structure.
“The MP is a hierarchical institution and it is my responsibility to respond to the deputy prosecutor and the section prosecutor of this prosecutor’s office. We were notified of these movements two weeks ago,” said one of them.
However, both agreed that they did not receive information about appointments of regional prosecutors, secretaries or officials from other administrative agencies.
Why is it important to communicate changes?
For former prosecutor Édgar Gómez, official communication of the appointments is essential due to the hierarchical structure established by the Organic Law of the Public Ministry.
“The Prosecutor’s Office is configured according to the organic law in a hierarchical way, that is, all communications must respect that vertical hierarchy that exists, starting from the office of the attorney general to the National Coordination and from there the regional prosecutors, the district prosecutors and the section prosecutors depend. First of all, any appointment or designation that is made must be communicated through official channels.”
Gómez explained that, at least during the last four administrations, the General Secretariat issued official letters or circulars to inform institutional changes.
“They are published in all official emails of tax assistants, agents and section prosecutors so that this information exists and the requirements can be reviewed,” he added.
According to the former prosecutor, secretaries play a key role in the administrative functioning of the institution.
“Each secretary and undersecretary is designated a region or prosecutor’s offices with which they can coordinate. For example, if equipment or logistics is needed, the general secretary or undersecretary is an intermediary for this type of effort, for the provision of supplies, equipment, technical personnel or prosecutor’s officers. It is very important that they see all the scaffolding and logistical support that all prosecutor’s offices have,” he added.
He added that the identification of authorities facilitates institutional coordination.
“Their work is also of vital importance for the good performance of the fiscal work and therefore each of the section and district prosecutors must be informed who the authorities are to be able to direct the requests, coordinate work meetings, present the action plans and what are the objectives that the prosecutor’s offices set in the short, medium and long term,” he explained.
An institution “shaped over eight years”
Francisco Quezada, security and justice analyst at the National Economic Research Center (CIEN), considers that the movements during the first month of administration respond to the natural process of installing a new administration.
In the analyst’s opinion, García Luna faces the challenge of directing an institution that operated under the same administration for eight years.
“What is reflected here is, let’s say, his immediate circle. He receives an eight-year Public Ministry, an MP very modeled on the previous attorney general,” he added.
Quezada believes that the most profound changes will still take time.
“It will be more difficult for him because it is a long term, he has just started and he is not a person who has had a career in the prosecutor’s office, but rather he comes from another background.”
Regarding the way in which the changes have been communicated, he noted that the attorney general probably seeks to balance the execution of decisions with the reaction that they may generate within the institution.
“If you announce the changes a lot and democratize them, you will probably generate greater resistance and, naturally, you will open a communication channel, but in the end your decisions can be postponed. And if you do it in a way that is seen as quite executive, you will be able to take possession of the changes,” he commented.
Quezada considers that the current administration is still in a transition stage.
“He is trying to turn the helm, but he is going to have to do it with great subtlety and great caution,” said the analyst.