After 20 years after the criminal complaint was filedFinally, according to the recent ruling of the Supreme Courtformer provincial government officials Saint Louis Sergio Freixes And Mario Zavala -former minister and deputy minister of the legality And Institutional relationshipsor – were arrested to comply with the regulations Imprisoned for six years and permanently barred from holding public officefor pressuring judges to sign their early resignations before taking office in order to limit their independence and control their actions.
This ruling is important because it shows that no matter how much impunity there was in a fief like the province of San Luis at the time the brothers ruled, Rodríguez Saá, When justice acts, those who commit crimes end up in prison.
The complaint was filed in April 2005 before Attorney General of the Nation It was promoted by the then-provincial prosecutor and current federal oral offenses judge in San Luis. Gretel Diamondand it became a scandal, opening up the possibility of intervention by the provincial judiciary.
Diamante did not act alone, but, aware of the harmful power of the provincial government, sought the support of a civil society organization, the Foundation Citizen powerwho worked with her to collect evidence and added something just as important as what was said above: the possibility of nationalizing the case so that the provincial power could not neutralize it.
Still, for years the investigation was hindered of those now convicted through dozens of proposals aimed at replacing the intervention of the federal justice system so that the case would be brought before the province. This led to a jurisdictional conflict that the Supreme Court ultimately resolved in favor of the federal level. Finally, after several tricks and chicanery and at the end of the entire legal process, on November 28, the Supreme Court again rejected the appeals filed by the defense and allowed the convictions to stand Coercive threats and aggravated threats.
Impunity has an element of impudence, as shown by the behavior of the now convicted officials who summoned the judicial candidates to personally inform them that they had been elected, but informed them that the condition for sending the list to the court had been met senate was that they had to sign the early resignation from the position for which they were appointed, which was prepared and printed. The meeting point was the headquarters of the cynically called the Ministry of Legalitya legality tailored to the governor that did not need blind justice but Judges who would look the other way.
At least ten candidates signed their resignations from positions they had not yet taken. During a raid on the ministry, three resignations were confiscated, all of which had identical characteristics: the same text, the same format, the absence of a date, the same general address – “to the Governor” – and the signatures of the resignation holders, without clarification or seal.
What is remarkable is that once again a woman, in this case Dr. Diamante, succeeds in having officials convicted of corruption, abuse of power or crimes in the exercise of public office. The most resonant case is that of Laura Muñozwhose complaint managed to reach the former vice president Beloved Boudou was sentenced to prison for corruption offences. Examples that society should recognize daily to consolidate a culture based on individual honesty and public transparency, and to ensure that witnesses and complainants receive the institutional support they deserve.
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