Carlos Galván
08/03/2020 - 21:16
- Clarín.com
- Politics
Despite loud protests by the legislators of Together for Change, the ruling party imposed its majority on Monday in the bicameral Commission for Monitoring and Control of the Public Prosecutor's Office and approved the transfer of the 12 requests for impeachment against the attorney general Acting, Eduardo Casal, to the competent committee of the Chamber of Deputies.
The opposition unsuccessfully claimed that before sending the requests to the Political Trial Commission, a call should be made to expose Casal.
"If we have already given him the maximum sentence, which is impeachment, what is the point of continuing with the hearings in the bicameral chamber?" , radical Deputy Emiliano Yacobitti , vice president of the bicameral , ironized before a Clarín consultation .
But the president of the bicameral, the kirchnerista Martín Doñate , also before a consultation of this newspaper replied: "It corresponds that the requests for impeachment be forwarded to the Political Trial Commission of Deputies, which is where they should be processed. Our bicameral does not have that power, independently of receiving the claims, complaints and denunciations . "
Casal was the head of all prosecutors during the Mauricio Macri administration and after the resignation, in 2017, of attorney Alejandra Gils Carbó. Macri tried to appoint Inés Weinberg de Roca as attorney, but Peronism never gave her the number in the Senate for her appointment.
Now it's the same to Alberto Fernández: he proposed to Daniel Rafecas for office, but now l Together for Change and blocks two - thirds majority needed for appointment.
The opposition's interpretation is that with the start of the impeachment process, what Kirchnerism is really looking for is to "wear down" Casal so that he ends up resigning. It happens that it is unlikely that the trial will move forward, beyond what the Political Judgment commission dictates: two thirds of the votes are needed and the ruling party, even with the help of allies, would not approach that number.
Beyond what the opposition guesses, it will be necessary to see if the impeachment is the path that is finally taken in the Chamber of Deputies.
The oficialismo handles another option . Under the argument that Casal is actually an interim attorney and did not obtain the agreement of the Senate for the position, the Political Trial Commission could indicate that what corresponds is to initiate a Trial Court in the Public Prosecutor's Office itself .
According to versions, in the event that Casal steps aside in the face of pressure, Kirchnerism wants Víctor Abramovich, current attorney before the Court, as interim attorney. Abramovich was a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and was director of the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS).
Before the start of the meeting - it was done virtually - of the bicameral one, the pro-government deputy Nicolás Rodríguez Saá had announced that the impeachment process against Casal would be promoted for "poor performance of his duties." Rodríguez Saá is vice-president of the Political Judgment commission.
Acting Attorney Eduardo Casal.
Basically, the complaints against Casal are due to the appointments he made, the disciplinary policy he applied, and budget management.
At the start of the bicameral meeting, a note was read where Attorney Casal asked for an extension "to provide the requested information to determine how disciplinary sanctions, appointments and vacancies were applied (or not) and also to audit the budget and administration in their management. "
Senator Doñate maintained: " Attorney Casal talks about a very short period of time to be able to request the requests of this commission," and instead, "the general defender of the Nation, Stella Maris Martínez sent the required information in a timely manner." .
Rodolfo Tailhade, deputy and member of La Cámpora, shot: "We are disrespecting them, they are making fun of us institutionally ."
Despite the insistent demands of the opposition, the sending of the requests to the Political Trial Commission was not voted . "Having voted without having listened to us, without knowing which are the deputies and senators by the supposed majority, the transfer of these requests for impeachment ... well, tell me if that is not persecution," complained the radical deputy Diego Mestre.
Deputy Cristian Ritondo, head of the PRO bloc.
For this Wednesday, the prosecutor Gabriela Boquín was summoned to the bicameral chamber of the Public Ministry, who intervenes in the Argentine Mail contest. Casal opened an administrative investigation to the prosecutor for alleged mistreatment of her employees. For Kirchnerism it is a "persecution".
"She is denounced for issues of labor abuse; we have to be careful," said the head of the PRO caucus, Cristian Ritondo.