In the midst of a complaint from the Foundation against Terrorism against its members, the Nomination Commission continued this Tuesday the evaluation of candidates for attorney general and raised to five the number of candidates who exceed 75 points.
Nine more professionals were evaluated on the day, adding to the 17 on Monday, reaching a total of 26 of 48 qualified profiles.
Of this second group, two managed to exceed 75 points; Brenda Dery Muñoz Sánchez, who was weighted with 90.86, being the highest result so far granted by the Postulator, and José Manuel Quinto Martínez, who received a rating of 79.
Both join the three from the previous day who also did so, raising five the number of candidates who already meet the minimum to be eligible to join the final roster.
The commission paused the session after 9 p.m. this Tuesday, and will resume the third phase of considerations next Thursday, April 16, starting at 9:00 a.m. 22 more candidates are still pending to be evaluated, including that of the current attorney general, Consuelo Porraswho seeks re-election for a third term in front of the Public Ministry.
According to the list of files, Porras would be the second to be evaluated in that next session that will be held the day before the vote to define the final list of six candidates scheduled for next year. Friday April 17.
Applicants who pass the cut-off line (75 points)
According to the registry of organizations Pro Justice Movement and Guatemala Visiblethis is the consolidated information of the candidates who have obtained the highest scores in the evaluation.
1. 90.86 – Brenda Dery Muñoz Sánchez (qualified this Tuesday, April 14)
He joined the payroll as attorney general in 2018 and in 2022 he was left out due to formal requirements. She is currently director of Promotion of Labor Legality in the Ministry of Labor (2024) and has held positions in the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (Igss), the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office (PDH), the National Civil Police (PNC) and the Ministry of the Interior.
She also has more than 16 years in the Public Ministry, where she was a prosecutor and head of agency in areas such as Organized Crime and Narcoactivity. His career also includes consulting, university teaching and experience in public management and labor rights.
2. 86.21 points – Gabriel Estuardo García Luna
He joined the list of candidates for attorney general in 2022 and is currently a substitute member of the Judicial Discipline Board. He has chaired said body, from where disciplinary cases against judges and magistrates for administrative offenses and actions in high-profile judicial processes were resolved.
He has extensive experience in the Judicial Branch since 1997, where he has held positions as officer, secretary, justice of the peace, trial judge and courtroom magistrate in the criminal area. He was also a vocal magistrate of the Mixed Regional Chamber of the Court of Appeals of Cobán. In the academic field, he has been a university professor at the Rafael Landívar University and the School of Judicial Studies. He has a master’s degree in Criminal Law from USAC.
3. 79 points – José Manuel Quinto Martínez (qualified this Tuesday, April 14)
He appears as a lawyer for two people involved in the disappearance of singer Zoel Cruz. In one of the raids carried out to comply with an arrest warrant for the purposes of extradition to the United States of former President Alfonso Portillo, lawyer Quinto Martínez recorded his disagreement, according to an attached document from the Pro Justice Movement. He has a master’s degree in Criminal Law.
4. 79.69 points – Néctor Guilebaldo de León Ramírez
He has been singled out for various actions in the exercise of his judicial functions, including a complaint for malfeasance for the release of CSJ magistrate Blanca Stalling, as well as questions about decisions in high-profile cases, such as the pretrial against CC magistrates and resolutions in the “Impunity Law Firm” case.
The Public Ministry also reported a dismissed complaint for resolutions considered to violate the Constitution.
He has held positions such as courtroom magistrate, acting attorney general and investigative judge in the justice system.
5. 76.85 points – Henry Elías Wilson
Magistrate with participation in several court election processes and attorney general, he was part of the final list of candidates in 2022. He has been a magistrate of the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals for Femicide.
He has been identified for his connection to the case Parallel Commissions 2020in which the Supreme Court of Justice denied the withdrawal of immunity requested against him by the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (Feci). The organizations also report resolutions in which the room she was a member of protected the then director of the Victim’s Institute, Alejandra Carrilloordering security measures and restrictions on journalists from The Hour. In addition, he was accused along with other magistrates for alleged alteration of documents in actions related to judicial notifications, linked to the then prosecutor for administrative crimes, Tamara de Leonas well as in a conflict that involved the former general secretary of the MP, Mayra Veliz.
His career includes positions in the Public Ministry as a fiscal assistant and technical coordinator, as well as experience in international cooperation and university teaching. He has a doctorate in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and has a master’s degree in Criminal Law.
Applicants do not pass the cut-off line
With the most recent evaluation, 21 of the 26 evaluated did not reach the established qualification.
- 70.28 – Zoila Tatiana Morales Validzón
- 74.26 – Raúl Estuardo López Rodríguez
- 69.21 – Carlos Alberto García Alvarado
- 67.71 – Gladys Veronica Ponce Mexicans
- 62.35 – Mynor Hernandez
- 59.92 – Ana Karina Méndez Vielman
- 54.07 – Brenner Israel López
- 53.53 – Walter Brenner Vásquez Gómez
- 53.50 – Shayne Ochaeta Argueta
- 51.14 – Marco Antonio Cortés Sis
- 50.78 – Edgar Miguel Morales Santos
- 45.6 – Walfred Orlando Rodríguez Tórtola
- 43.6 – Juan Luis Polanco Santizo
- 33.64 – Sully Claudet Merlos Moya
- 37.50 – Lissy Cristina Guerra Aguirre
- 39.98 – Lisseth Gramajo Trampe
- 27.84 – Paolo Rubén Similox Valiente
- 27.83 – Wilber Gerardo Enriquez Jocol
- 26.46 – Carlos Humberto Rivera Carillo
- 25.92 – Maynor Eduardo González Méndez
- 18.84 – Abdi Ariel Guerra Guzmán
OAS warns that scores do not guarantee suitability
Before resuming the qualification of files this afternoon, the Nomination Commission gave a hearing to a representative of the Organization of American States (OAS), a regional organization that brings together 35 countries on the continent, accompanies and observes the process.
In that space, the head of the mission, Carlos Ayala Coraostressed the importance of the process and warned that “The decision you make does not constitute a merely procedural act.”, but it directly impacts democracy and the rule of law.
In his message, he emphasized that “A score, no matter how high, does not replace a comprehensive assessment” of the applicants, and that “A high score does not replace the duty of selecting the most suitable people”.
He also insisted that decisions and points must be explainable and motivating decisions: “The assessment must be duly reasoned and motivated” and “the motivation of decisions is not an accessory aspect”, but an important guarantee for the credibility of the process.
Furthermore, he warned that “legitimacy will not be measured solely by formal compliance with the stages“, but for the quality of the final payroll, and stressed that “The public interest must prevail over any individual or group consideration”.
In response, the president of the commission, Claudia Paredes, assured that the process is carried out in accordance with the law: “We are committed to acting responsibly in accordance with the principle of legality”.
He added that the opening of the sessions seeks to give certainty to the process. “This is part of having this forum open to the public… so that the entire process is transparent.”” and ensure that “the best candidates on that list”, he assured in a brief intervention.
Disagreements due to evaluation of judges and complaints
The Postulator is now developing her process in the midst of a complaint filed by the Foundation against Terrorism against the commissioners, in which the application of the constitutional requirements to integrate the list of candidates for the Public Ministry is questioned. The accusation was announced this Tuesday and includes the secretary of the body, Patricia Gamezto whom an alleged omission of legal requirements in favor of some applicants is attributed.
In this regard, Gámez rejected the allegations and stated that the complaint constitutes a possible act of coercion, considering that it seeks to influence the decisions of the body. “I take it as an act of coercion not only against myself, but against the commission”he stated before the start of the file evaluation, warning that coercion is a crime that is criminalized.
“I have acted in this commission with principles, with full independence. Filing complaints, instrumentalizing Criminal Law, is an act of coercion that should not be allowed by any of us,” he said at the beginning of the day, in which the evaluation of files continued.
The context of the complaint is related to the disagreements registered since the beginning of the qualifications, on April 13, when differences arose regarding the calculation of the professional experience of the candidates.
One of the main positions was raised by the president of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) and of the commission, Claudia Paredeswho proposed not granting points for professional practice to those who have been judgesunder the argument that the judicial function is incompatible with the legal profession and the notary profession.
The initiative did not prosper and revealed divisions among the commissioners—mostly deans—who cited criteria from the Constitutional Court, including resolutions from 2014 and 2022, to support different interpretations of how to count professional experience.
There were also disagreements in academic areas and in the definition of the beginning and end of the professional career, which directly impacts the assignment of points (two for each year of practice).
Magistrates ask to know protection
In turn, three senior judges of the Constitutional Court (CC) issued a note to the holder Anabella Morfin, who just took office this same day, in which they request to know an injunction for the same issue raised by Paredes and the Foundation’s complaint.
The letter signed by the magistrate Dina Ochoa, Roberto Molina Barreto and Julia Rivera asks to be convened and known the action proposed on the discussion about whether judges meet the requirements or not of eligibility to join the list of candidates. The requirement frames the beginning of the new magistracy.
