The Attorney General and head of the MP, Consuelo Porras, publishes a video in which she says she will not resign from her position and refers to the appointment made to her by President Bernardo Arévalo.
President Arévalo had summoned Porras to a meeting in the Presidency of the Republic on 24 January and asked him for a report on four situations he considered to be transcendental for the country.
Although the letter that Arévalo sent to Porras citing the presidential office does not mention anything about asking him to resign from office, the president has publicly stated that he was going to do so.
Porras, in his video released on Wednesday, refers to the public statements made by Arévalo in which he reiterates the request to resign from office.
In the face of the various public statements and the attempt to request my resignation, today I would like to send a clear and forceful message to the people of Guatemala and the President of the Republic to make them know categorically that I am respectful of the laws of the country and, consequently, I will fulfill the constitutional mandate of four years, for which I was re-elected, and, consequently, I will not resign, Porras said.
The Political Constitution of the Republic is clear in this regard and establishes a legally determined mandate that I must comply fully with, so you, as the highest authority of the nation, must respect what is established by the Magna Carta and the laws of the country,” Porras tells President Arévalo.
Porras points out that the Constitutional Court has also ruled on this matter, stating that the constitutional provision for the four-year term of office of the Attorney General of the Republic and head of the Public Prosecutor ' s Office should not coincide with the period of the Presidency’s exercise to ensure the autonomy and independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
My action has always been carried out in strict compliance with the law, contributing to the strengthening of the rule of law in the country, which has represented a historical strengthening of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a fact that was endorsed when he was re-elected as Attorney General of the Republic and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and with strong and verifiable results, emphasized the prosecutor Porras.
He added that he will spare no effort for the MP to continue to “firm and strong in his investigations, for one purpose,” the inquiry of the truth.
Working from your competences
Porras also tells Arévalo: Mr. President, we both have fundamental functions to fulfill and we must work for the good of our country within the framework of our respective competences. Therefore, as a woman of law, I have always been and will continue to be respectful of the law, to comply firmly with my obligations, so, in the same vein, I respectfully urge you to respect the Constitution, the law and all the rulings of the courts, including the decision of the Constitutional Court, which denied an action of unconstitutionality related to article 14 of the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, since any action, on the contrary, may be illegitimate, undemocratic and in clear obstruction of criminal prosecution and obstruction of justice, which are notThey contribute to transparency, the strengthening of institutionality and the rule of law, nor do they benefit the Guatemalan population.
Then, Mr. President, I urge you to leave your anti-corruption speech and make it a reality in favor of Guatemalan citizens, since the Public Prosecutor’s Office is the natural entity in accordance with the law for you and your officials, responsibly, to present the complaints with their respective evidence of any act of corruption, which will be investigated without exception, since the Public Prosecutor’s Office has investigated and continues to investigate all the complaints that have been brought to your attention,” Porras tells Arévalo.
The video begins with Porras’ statements in which he refers to the office of January 18 sent to him by President Arévalo and points out that he will be responding to the aspects requested of him, in response to the principle of legality, a fundamental pillar of our legal system.
“We will make this information public on our social networks so that the population is informed in the spirit of accountability to the citizenry,” Porras said.
It is important to stately and forcefully state that in accordance with the provisions of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala, the Organic Law of the Public Prosecutor ' s Office and other current legal regulations, the Public Prosecutor ' s Office is not subject to any power of the State because it is an autonomous and independent institution, thus guaranteeing the non-intervention of any authority in the exercise of its functions, said the head of the MP.
It refers to the fact that the Constitutional Court has already ruled in several resolutions, stating that in accordance with the mandate contained in article 251 of the Magna Carta, the MP is governed by fundamental principles, including those of legality, hierarchy and functional autonomy.
Considering that functional autonomy implies that in the exercise of its functions the Public Prosecutor’s Office is not subordinate any authority, says Porras.
It also refers to article 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that the MP enjoys full independence for the exercise of criminal proceedings and investigation, and that no authority may give instructions to the head of the Public Prosecutor ' s Office or his subordinates, on the manner in which the criminal investigation is carried out or to limit the exercise of the proceedings, except for the powers conferred by law on the courts of law.
He won’t go on a date.
Porras further adds that article 3 of the Organic Law on the Public Prosecutor ' s Office regulates that the Public Prosecutor ' s Office shall act independently because of its own impulse and failure to comply with the functions attributed to the laws without subordination to any State agencies or any authority.
In this connection, from the legal and judicial point of view, the Attorney General of the Republic and the staff of the Public Prosecutor ' s Office shall act only in accordance with the legally conferred powers and powers. Consequently, attending summonses, invitations or meetings to discuss proceedings under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office would constitute non-observance of the current constitutional and legal regulations, since all officials are depositaries of the authority responsible for our official conduct subject to the law and never superior to it,” he says in the video.