Resignation of UFM president halts court elections

During the first session of nominations for candidates for the Supreme Judicial Council and the Court of Appeal, two seats were left vacant. One of them was Milton Estuardo Argueta Pinto.

Since the beginning of July, the lawyer has no longer been dean of the Francisco Marroquin University (UFM) Law School. The academic unit confirmed this without giving details. Public square. Besides, they said that till now, the college does not have a dean.

The other empty chair belongs to Luis Antonio Ruano Castillo, dean of the Mariano Gálvez University (UMG) School of Law, who has yet to be sworn in.

Due to the absence of Agta and Ruano, the nomination committee, which was originally scheduled to be established on July 11 and 12, could not be established.

(Related pzp1)

The same scene in two acts

On Thursday the 11th, 35 of the 37 Postulator members of the CSJ showed up at the headquarters of the Rafael Landivar University (URL). Everything was ready to start: observers, journalists, students and lawyers were taking notes. Although plans were made to determine the headquarters and the timetable for the process, things did not move forward due to the absence of two deans. They were the ones who were absent from Congress last July 4 when the delegates were sworn in. On Friday the 12th, the scene was repeated at the Postulator of the Court of Appeals, where only 29 of the 37 delegates arrived.

“We were going to verify the quorum and in fact there were more than 25 (commissioners), but this sparked a discussion about the integration of the committee because two deans were not sworn in, one was absent on a business trip and another was because he resigned from the UFM,” Miquel Cortés Bofill, president of the URL and CSJ Postulator, explained to the press.

According to Cortes, Luis Antonio Ruano Castillo, dean of the Mariano Gálvez University (UMG) School of Law, had returned to Guatemala and was scheduled to go to Congress on July 11 to be sworn in, but due to changes in the legislative agenda, this did not happen.

“We will advise the president of Congress so that he can expedite the swearing-in of these two individuals and most importantly, advise the UFM rector so that he can appoint the dean,” Cortes said. The letters to both entities were sent that afternoon..

(embedded in pzp1)

Public Square He contacted the UFM Law School, and an employee confirmed that there was no dean yet and no one knew who would succeed Argueta, who had worked at the institution for 24 years. He is also a member of the board of directorsWe also sought to communicate with Agta, but at the time of writing, he was out of the office.

UMG President Ruano responded to this media that “he intended to be sworn in” and that he was in Congress on Thursday the 11th, but due to discussions about the state of disaster, this did not take place and he was not assigned a new date.

«This is urgent. We are already racing against time,» Cortes said.

These delays could affect the time the commissioner has to review the applicants’ files. Luis Aragón Solé of the University of San Pablo stressed this during the meeting of the Appeals Committee. If it were to start now, the commissioner would have two months and two weeks to review more than 1,000 resumes. As long as Congress and the UFM do not respond, the days will be shortened.

“Once (the applicants) are integrated, all eyes and responsibility for timing and deadlines will be on the committee,” Aragon said.

Raul Horacio Arevalo, president of the International University and president of the Court of Appeal panel, accepted the majority opinion and said he would send two letters to Congress President Neri Ramos: one asking the UMG dean to be sworn in and the other asking UFM to tell who the new dean of the law school will be.

Luis Figueroa, UFM Public Relations Director, Public Squarein which he was asked what actions the university would take and when a new dean would be appointed.

debate

Although the work of the associate deans has not officially begun, during the first meeting there was a debate on whether the process could begin in the absence of the two deans.

Cang, represented by Armando Ismael Ajín Pérez from the Union of Lawyers and Related Professionals (Ugap) and José Enrique Urrutia Estrada from the Solidarity Group of Related Professionals (Aspa), founder of the far-right group Immortals Guatemala, sat together, had a conversation and were the first to demand that the parliamentary election process not be launched. According to his criteria, which the majority of the commissioners share, if the process is launched without the presence of 37 members, there is a risk that legal action will invalidate any progress.

“Let’s avoid legal mistakes that could be challenged later,” Akin said.

Ugap is linked to Walter Mazariegos, president of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala (Usac), as most of its staff work at the university. During the campaign before the Cang County representative elections, the third judge, Mino Moto (who successfully quashed two arrest warrants against him), supported one of the group’s activities.

Aspar, for his part, is accused of being led by the president of the Constitutional Court (CC), Néster Vásquez, who, according to sources, was one of the main manipulators of the election.

(Related pzp2)

Vázquez was elected by Cang, and the outcome of the CSJ magistrate election is crucial for the upcoming CC re-election: the new magistrate can nominate him. In addition to their interest in the court elections, Mazariguez, Motto and Vázquez are jointly sanctioned by the United States, which has included them in the Engel list, considering them corrupt and undemocratic actors.

Carmen Aída Ibarra, director of ProJusticia, the entity that monitors the court elections, called the UMG and UFM “irresponsible” because they did not fulfill their obligation to inform Congress so as not to hinder the candidates’ work.

“Although it is still frustrating, the best decision was made. “Congress must expedite the swearing-in of Luis Ruano and the UFM must tell who will be the dean,” he said.

So far, Congress has not reported when the next session will be held. Public Square He sought representatives of the standing committee to ask when the missing commissioners would be sworn in, but he did not respond to calls.