Álvaro Montenegro writes in El Faro English about the extraordinary situation in Guatemala regarding the machinations of the Attorney General in seeking, effectively, to criminalise the President Bernardo Arévalo. He, on the other hand, is trying to have her removed from her post. During the previous administration of Alejandro Giammattei, the judiciary was co-opted by the workings of corrupt elites, politicians, military, and business leaders, the so-called Pacto de Corruptos, and any attempts to combat corruption were met by the criminalisation of anti-corruption actors. Many of these actors were forced into exile. This struggle between the two is happening amid an internationally observed election of the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice and Appellate Courts.
Attorney General Consuelo Porras, sanctioned for corruption in over 40 countries, has not stopped harassing the government of Bernardo Arévalo. Even though he took office in January, the attorney general continues to press forward in her coup crusade. She recently presented a request to the Constitutional Court (CC) to prosecute President Arévalo criminally and to dismiss four of his closest officials: Solicitor General Julio Saavedra, Secretary General of the Presidency Juan Gerardo Guerrero, Minister of Finance Jonathan Menkos, and Secretary of Communication Santiago Palomo.
Porras is a product of the Guatemalan system —she has worked for 30 years in different positions— and her specialty is hollow discourse. In her more than 400-page brief accusing Arévalo, the attorney general argued that the president and officials have disobeyed an injunction granted to her by the Court in May. That injunction was granted against the initiative that Arévalo presented to Congress to modify the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) to make Porras accountable, and after an evaluation, giving the president the power to dismiss her. But the injunction never prevented the president from proposing legislation or criticizing public officials.
The effect Porras seeks, in any case, is not legal but political: to continue presenting herself as Arévalo’s opponent and use the machinery of the prosecutor’s office to keep the president in check and sow a national climate of anxiety. In the brief, she quotes dozens of tweets of officials and social organizations with which she seeks to spread the feeling that the eye of “Big Brother” is watching what the population writes online. She sends this message so that certain people feel observed; she openly argues that what is written or reposted by officials when they criticize the attorney general implies the commission of a crime. And it is especially symbolic because the officials she accuses have been the most vocal, including those who have signed legal actions against her.
In response, President Arévalo has petitioned the same Court to revoke the injunction, which he argues should never have been granted. He has also filed a preliminary accusation to have Porras’ immunity revoked, citing her violation of the constitution and abuse of authority. Many believe that Porras has committed numerous crimes, but the obstacle to accountability, of course, lies in the fact that she cannot prosecute herself. Therefore, there is a pressing need for an independent review to investigate the actions of the MP, as recommended by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights after their recent visit to the country that ended on July 26, which highlighted the policy of criminalization.
Consuelo Porras has created an atmosphere of fear and disrespect for human rights as she, the top law enforcement official, openly twists the rules. Corruption cases, on the other hand, are being closed, and we see politicians prosecuted for stealing loads of money going home free, and brandishing the tools of lawfare against prosecutors, judges, and journalists who investigated them.
You can read the full piece, with links, here, Consuelo Porras Stokes Political Turmoil Amid Guatemalan Court Elections.
Categories: Corruption, Criminalisation, Guatemala, Impunity, Justice
Guatemala Solidarity Network 
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