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The deputies approved on Monday, 30 in favor and 13 against, the report of the commission investigating the advertising contracts of the National Radio and Television System (Sinart), which concluded that the government of Rodrigo Chaves used the Sinart advertising agency to focus advertising on the national agenda and politicize this resource.
The investigation revealed that these resources were used to award contracts to government-linked media outlets.
MPs from the ruling New Republican Party (PNR) and two MPs from the Party of Christian Social Solidarity (PUSC) voted against the report.
For most representatives, the government’s resort to on-demand recruitment against Sinatra was an unfair approach, as it helped to dominate the editorial line of the media and allocate resources to those who did not take a critical line against the executive branch.
The report is signed by Vanessa Castro of the Christian Social Unity Party (PUSC); Ariel Robles, from the Broad Front (FA); Johana Obando of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and liberals Dinorah Barquero and Danny Vargas of the National Liberation Party (PLN).
The investigation concluded that Sinar’s presidency of the Republic was compromised and suffered an unprecedented crisis as it was used for strictly political purposes.
The investigation also concluded that there were no technical standards for the allocation of public resources used by national guidelines.
Unlike the five signatories, both the manufacturer Pablo Sibaja and the official Ada Acuña published their own reports, separate from the majority.
During a discussion of the report on Monday, PP deputy Johanna Obando questioned whether the state should do more to maintain an inefficient system. He stressed that one of his faction’s recommendations was to shut down Sinart Advertising.
“Money is not enough to maintain useless things, for example, money can be used for scholarships,” Ovando stressed.
Presidential Editorial Board
In addition to the politicization of state policy, the report also questions the Editorial Committee of the President of the Republic, which was set up on the proposal of producer Christian Bulgarelli. The recommendation of the representatives of the Public Ministry is to investigate the committee for suspected influence peddling, the management of donations to the Central American Bank for Economic Research (CABEI) and the centralization of Sinart funds.
To be precise, with the CABEI donation, Bulgarelli’s company Nocaut was awarded a $405,800 contract to provide communications advice to the government of Rodrigo Chavez.
been: Rodrigo Chavez attacks deputies investigating Sinatra case
The commission that deputies are calling for an investigation is made up of President Rodrigo Chavez; former presidency minister Natalia Díaz; Communications Minister Jorge Rodríguez; official representative Pilar Cisneros and publicist Federico Cruz, known as Choreco.
Additionally, the report questioned the involvement of Cisneros and Cruz in the executive branch, as neither of them is a government official.
In her speech, Dinorah Baquero stressed that Cisneros’ participation violates article 111 of the Political Constitution, which states that deputies may not serve in any other power or autonomous body of the Republic, under penalty of loss of credentials.
The report recommended that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) review the matter.
Independent MP Gloria Navas Montero stressed that the investigation is focused on defending freedom of expression and press freedom, as well as protecting public resources that deputies fear are being wasted.
In addition, he questioned the fact that a deputy and a friend of the president had served on the editorial board, which Navas considered a possible act of corruption.
The deputies stressed that Federico Cruz, although not an official, undertook tasks assigned by Chávez and the editorial board, including managing contracts and directing decisions regarding public funds.
To this end, the Sinatra Commission recommended that the Public Ministry investigate the interference and involvement of public relations officer Federico Cruz. They made the same request to the Public Ethics Prosecutor’s Office (PEP) and asked it to assess whether it is necessary to report the suspected criminal abuse of power in the contracts analyzed by the Investigative Forum.
The officials the investigative committee asked the prosecutor’s office to investigate include Sinart CEO Fernando Sandí; general manager Federico Amador; former media planning head David Tencio and former CEO Allan Trigueros.
Commenting on the investigation report during the plenary session, liberal Andrea Alvarez noted that governing is a matter for adults and that President Chavez is not yet high enough to do so.
Paola Nájera of the ruling party questioned the rush to adjudicate and debate the Sinatra Code report instead of conducting other investigations, such as the one in the Diamante case, or using the resources of the National Union of Local Governments (UNGL).
The ruling party Ada Acuña also questioned the majority report, claiming there was no evidence to support any of the conclusions put forward by the liberals and arguing that the president of the Investigative Forum, Vanessa Castro; liberal Johanna Obando and liberal Danny Vargas, had a conflict of interest in participating in the investigation.
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