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The salary increase of 1.7 million pesos per month that the congressmen received, after a decree issued on December 24 by the Presidency of the Republic, has generated a whole controversy not only because of what this increase implies in the middle of the pandemic, but because this decree has retroactive effects.
This means that legislators not only receive the increase, but, as the decree has applied since January of this year, they must be paid the surplus that was left to cancel. In short, the congressmen will receive a retroactive payment of about 20 million pesos.
Faced with the wave of criticism, several government officials have come out to explain that the increase is “a legal obligation” and that the President of the Republic cannot go against it or he would receive lawsuits.
(See also: Congressmen will receive about 20 million retroactive)
“It is a legal obligation established by article 187 of the Constitution and the laws related to increases in the salaries of officials”, stated the director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency, Diego Molano.
The matter is even more complex if one takes into account that, by law, the salary of congressmen is the basis for calculating the remuneration of other senior State officials, such as the Attorney General, the Comptroller General and the magistrates of the high courts .
Before this panorama, what options are left to reduce the imbalance between the salary of legislators and ordinary Colombians?
Anti-corruption consultation
Through a tutela action, a group of congressmen seeks that the seven points of the anti-corruption consultation, voted in August 2018, are recognized as valid. One of these mandates was the one that sought to freeze the salary of congressmen.
Among the arguments for making the request is the information revealed by Senator Iván Cepeda according to which at the time of voting the consultation there were errors in the calculation of the electoral census, so fewer votes were required than those initially calculated. That is, with the close to 12 million that this mechanism obtained, the threshold would have been exceeded.
This judicial action is already in the hands of a judge of the Republic. If the thesis of the congressmen who put the guardianship is accepted, it could open a light of hope for the consultation to become a mandate, which would force the legislators to pass a reform to reduce their salary.
(Further: The harsh political controversies left by 2020)
Political pact
The legally simpler and practically obvious option is that the reform to lower the salary of parliamentarians is given directly by the will of the Congress of the Republic, which is the natural body to create and modify laws. However, that is precisely what the Legislature has lacked: will.
Attempts to reform the salary of congressmen have been made in every possible way: a direct reduction by law, a salary freeze for four years or that legislators, In the midst of the pandemic, they renounce their representation expenses (about 14 million pesos). The result has been the same: the projects collapse.
Referendum
Another option that has begun to be considered is the referendum promoted by the Democratic Center, which has among its points a reduction in the number of congressmen and the salary they earn.
However, for many sectors, this option is dangerous, because it contains other much more controversial points, such as the modification of the JEP and the unification of the courts, which would generate a shakeup in the country’s institutional framework. Furthermore, a referendum in the middle of the election season can backfire.
Limit budget
Public Function sources, a government entity, explained in Snail News that the only one that can limit this increase is Congress through a limitation imposed on the general budget of the Nation. However, this option would have other elements that would make it unfeasible, as it would have to be accompanied by other reforms.
“The salary increase is a fundamental right that, although it is not absolute, the only one who can limit it is the legislator in the Law of the General Budget of the Nation. This limitation was not carried out for 2021. Consequently, the President of the Republic has a constitutional obligation to increase the salary of congressmen, ”a source told that outlet.
POLITICS
