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Could your defense before the prosecution affect your role? Is a formalization sufficient to separate an official from his position? Would doing so imply violating the principle of presumption of innocence? Those are some of the questions that were installed yesterday in the Senate after the president of the Upper House, Adriana Muñoz (PPD), proposed to suspend secretary Raúl Guzmán hours before the Public Ministry requested its formalization for crimes against public health.
The former prosecutor is investigated by the prosecution under article 318 of the Penal Code, after having violated the quarantine on June 25, the day he went to a seafood store in San Miguel to meet with the prosecutor Patrick Rosas and the advisor to the South Prosecutor’s Office, Roberto Contreras. With both, Guzmán had a lunch, without complying with the sanitary recommendations, in the midst of the pandemic and when there was already a ban on the operation of restaurants throughout Chile.
At the beginning of July, when the information published by radio Bío Bío was known, the Internal Regime Commission of the corporation had chosen to wait for the Public Ministry to take action, before ruling on the future of Guzmán, who operates as minister of faith. of the Upper House.
However, after its imminent formalization, this instance – in which all the committees are represented – will be the one that defines the future of the ex-secutor. In fact, the issue was addressed yesterday by the senators that make it up, where Muñoz’s proposal was not widely accepted.
The theme maintains divided to the opposition benches, where in the same committee as the leader of the front line, the majority of the senators would not be willing to support his proposal. It is the case of the senator Jaime Quintana, during whose tenure at the head of the corporation Guzmán assumed, and other legislators such as Felipe Harboe, Pedro Araya and Guido Girardi.
“An eventual formalization is not a sentence. There is a long way between both concepts and in between there is the presumption of innocence that must always be respected, even more so when the secretary is implementing, with the agreement of all committees, a process of modernization of the Senate that does not allow for interruption or delay ”, affirms to The Third PM the senator Quintana.
In fact, the point was addressed in a committee meeting on Sunday and it was there that several warned of the risks that such a decision could have. For example, it was argued that suspending it was against due process and that there would be no legal reason that had support in the administrative statute that could sustain an a priori sanction against the expersecutor. In that sense, it was even suggested that the secretary could end up suing the Upper House.
Likewise, some senators from that bench also maintain that Muñoz’s proposal looks like “A pass of accounts” Guzmán, after the multiple disagreements that have marked the relationship between both authorities. Muñoz, in fact, has made public her. “discomfort” regarding the status of the official.
Another point that stands out in the PPD is the case of the senator Manuel Jose Ossandón (RN), who is already formalized for influence peddling. Along these lines, several legislators point out that it would not be understood that the legislator remained in his parliamentary work, while the secretary, due to a less serious situation, is removed from his position. “Set a dire precedent,” says a lawmaker from that committee.
In the PS there are also opposing views. While some legislators like Jose Miguel Insulza or the president of that party, Alvaro Elizalde, are not about to separate it from its functions, others such as Carlos Montes They warn that as a minister of faith, action is needed.
“There are different moments. Today, when the Public Ministry has decided to formalize, it is up to the board and the internal regime to make a decision. That decision, in my opinion, should be to suspend him from office while this is clarified, he is a minister of faith and in that the table has a point, ”says Montes.
Insulza, on the other hand, warns that “What we have always done is respect the presumption of innocence as much as possible, and as some senators have expressed it, the reality is that the formalization phase is not even the phase of accusing someone. It is an intermediate phase that was established to notify a person that they were investigating him, therefore, the presumption of innocence must be there ”.
“Perhaps out of prudence the secretary of the Senate may not be there so that they do not take photos of him every day. But in no case can he remove him, in my opinion, from his position, neither totally nor partially, as long as there is no concrete accusation, “adds the socialist, pointing to one of the intermediate solutions that have been raised in the Upper House: that Guzmán Take on a lower profile and step out of the front line to take on administrative roles.
Since Chile Come onMeanwhile, their representatives have been clear to the table and have warned that they will not be available to advance sanctions against the former prosecutor. “The secretary was reckless. That one regrets, it is a mistake that should never have happened. But due to the type of infraction, this does not amount to more than a fine (…) and, therefore, what is here is a questioning of a particular punctual and specific attitude, which for me does not merit a drastic measure such as a way out, “says the senator David sandoval (UDI).
For the legislator, in addition, that would imply “delaying an urgency that the Senate has, which is modernization. We cannot put at risk delaying such a priority process ”.
From RN, meanwhile, the senator Juan Castro maintains that “when a person is formalized, that is a guarantee for the truth to be established. Formalization is not guilt. Why crucify a person for hanging out with his friends? I don’t see any sin in him. I would not be about to separate it from its functions. Like everyone, he has the right to due process ”.
Although the Internal Regime Commission was initially expected to set an emergency session for today, Senate sources assured that the issue would finally be addressed tomorrow, Wednesday. At press time, Guzmán was expected to address his situation to the media.
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