The renewal of courts, a new test of the strength of the corrupt pact in Guatemala

The process to elect judges and magistrates for the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) and the Court of Appeals, which is expected to begin in early July, will be a new test of the strength of the pact of the corrupt in Guatemala, a country that last year elected President Bernardo Arévalo for his firm message of fighting corruption, but which is beginning to despair at the lack of signs of change to put an end to the system of impunity that has co-opted the justice systems.

At the request of Arévalo himself, the Special Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) arrived at the beginning of this week, made up of Rosa Celorio, Rodolfo Piza and Luiz Marrey, who met with the president to inaugurate its work in that nation. “During its stay in Guatemala City, the Mission will hold meetings with national authorities and other relevant groups,” the OAS said in a statement. release published in X on July 24.

According to investigations presented by the defunct International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), these elections are characterized by the commission of crimes such as influence peddling, buying of wills and parallel negotiations led by politicians and businessmen who have been imprisoned for corruption crimes. .

In March, Arévalo asked the OAS for support. Several local civil organizations also maintain constant monitoring of the process not only because of the irregularities detected in the past, but also because, in the case of judges, for the Court of Appeals, it is a delayed election. There has not been a replacement for four years.

The appointments to these courts will be “the main topic of national events” this year, says Pablo Hurtado, executive director of the Association for Research and Social Studies (Asíes). “Last year, during the General Elections, Guatemala experienced a moment of great tension in which the results themselves were subject to the scrutiny of the judicial branch,” he says. In his opinion, this demonstrated the importance of a judicial branch within the State. “Guatemalan society became very aware of how important and relevant the judicial branch is, especially in the face of cases of extreme judicialization of political matters.”

“The fact that the OAS has agreed to send a mission is already an early warning of a situation in which there is neither sufficient citizen control nor the balance of powers and, consequently, there are risks surrounding the co-option of justice,” commented Álvaro Pop, director of the indigenous organization Naleb’. A article published by the independent media Public plaza reveals that, after the expulsion of CICIG from Guatemala in 2019, the prosecutor’s office led by the controversial prosecutor Consuelo Porras stopped investigating corruption structures and that at least 118 people imprisoned and/or accused of corruption were released from trials and jail .

In the last five years, more than 100 people, including judges, prosecutors, activists and journalists, have been criminalized and persecuted by the Public Ministry and the courts of justice.

Who will be the candidates?

The process of electing judges requires the formation of two nomination committees, one for each court. These committees receive the resumes of the candidates, interview and rate them, and then send a refined list of more than 200 candidates to the Congress of the Republic, which makes the final decision.

“The problem is that [el candidato] “They may be very good people, but the system through its operators does not necessarily choose them. So our expectations are not very high, but we have hopes,” said Pop.

The commissions were formed at the beginning of June. The presidents of the nomination commissions are rectors of two private universities, while the members of the commissions will be judges of the Judicial Branch and representatives of the Bar Association and Notaries.

The next phase is for Congress to swear in the members of both teams so that they can begin the election process. The tentative date for the event would be Wednesday, July 3. The names of the candidates are expected to be known next month.

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