Nov
Politics
Bukele’s probity declaration to remain private?
EL FARO reports:
With the majority vote of three commissioners recently elected by Nayib Bukele and who were elected less than 3 months ago, the Institute of Access to Public Information (IAIP) revoked a resolution of its own from last June. As the highest authority on access to public information, the IAIP had ordered the Supreme Court on June 22 to hand over to journalist Jéssica Ávalos from Factum Magazine information related to the Probity investigation of President Bukele’s assets. Four months later – when the new commissioners had been sworn in by President Bukele – the IAIP now changes its criteria and maintains that the information whose publicity once defended should be kept away from citizens.
Those who voted in favor were (president Ricardo) Gómez and two commissioners who have been in office for a month and a half, Luis Javier Suárez Magaña and the alternate Gerardo Guerrero Larín. Both Suárez and Guerrero were sworn into office on September 9 by President Bukele after an irregular process, which did not have guarantees of transparency and which was criticized by various organizations. The president of the IAIP was sworn in by Bukele on August 12, in another process that was also criticized and that led to the resignation of an aspiring commissioner due to his links with the Bukele government.
…
“It is a setback for the Right of Access to Public Information and the principle of maximum publicity,” denounced Liduvina Escobar, IAIP commissioner who voted against the decision together with commissioner Andrés Grégori. Escobar adds that in the plenary session of commissioners on Monday 26th, IAIP president Ricardo Gómez asked that the point be abruptly included. “We were all surprised,” Escobar says. “Nobody could do a legal analysis prior to the vote”, something that is customary to do before issuing any agreement.
Commissioner Escobar explains that another argument for having voted against is that the resolution of June 22 of the IAIP had already granted certain rights to the journalist Jéssica Ávalos and that therefore the IAIP could not revoke itself ex officio.
Escobar also said that from 2015 to date, the IAIP and the Constitutional Chamber have maintained that the Probity reports and their respective addenda can be shared with the public through public versions. Probidad prepares reports on the assets of all officials and they have the right to send evidence on their own defense. Once the information is collated, Probidad prepares an addendum, which is the one that the Court of magistrates of the CSJ takes into account to decide whether to send the official to a trial for illicit enrichment or if they are acquited.
Read the full article (IN SPANISH) here.
