The Chavista leader of the Social Democratic Progress Party (PPSD), Pilar Cisnerosannounced this Thursday the criteria on the possible sanction to Fabricio Alvarado for alleged sexual abusea topic that will be discussed next Monday in the plenary session of the Legislative Assembly.
The Chavista spokesperson revealed that the government faction is not going to support the imposition of a public ethical reprimand on the evangelical deputy, despite the fact that two reports from a special investigative commission recommended sanctioning him.
Alvarado’s five colleagues in the New Republic Party would be on the same page, who this Thursday tried to block the resolution of the legislative president, Rodrigo Arias, to establish Monday as the date for discussion and voting on the matter.
If there are guilty parties, there is a sanction, but there cannot be a political crucifixion without having the evidence to make a circommission.
— Pilar Cisneros, Chavista leader
Pilar Cisneros alleged that she is not saying that the deputy is innocent or guilty of the sexual harassment reported by former deputy and legislative advisor Marulin Azofeifa, nor is she saying that she is telling the truth or a lie.
“I don’t have evidence, I haven’t heard them, I don’t have the testimonies,” commented the Chavista spokesperson in statements to the press.
However, the Chavista faction had one of its deputies on the special investigative commission into the alleged sexual abuse reported by Azofeifa. It was Waldo Agüero, who had to report all the details to his other teammates so that they could form a criterion and make a decision on the eventual sanction.
Additionally, the spokesperson for the government party argued that, if the case is judicialized, it would not be up to the deputies to serve as judges to decide whether Fabricio Alvarado is guilty of sexual abuse or not.
“It would correspond to a judge of the Republic. Since when are the deputies here judges?”, he stated.
Cisneros argued that the process should go through judicial means and that a court should decide. For her, holding the discussion in plenary would be a “circplenary”, just to “talk atrocities.”
“We are not going to play that game,” said the Chavista spokesperson.
Despite all the arguments expressed by Pilar Cisneros, regarding the judicialization of the matter against Alvarado, and the criteria of the Department of Legal Advice and the Department of Technical Services of Congress had explained that the existence of a criminal complaint for sexual abuse does not exclude the possibility of carrying out an administrative process for alleged sexual harassment.
Cisneros added that, if a deputy is found guilty in court, “of course” it should be punished in Congress, but he argued that it is not the deputies who should declare him guilty or innocent.
“If there are guilty parties, there is a sanction, but there cannot be a political crucifixion without having the evidence to make a circommission,” he said.
