Last Thursday, April 21, the Senate approved the bill that “prohibits the allocation of fuel to the authorities and officials of the three branches of government.” Javier Zacarias Irún and Martín Arévalo, both senators from the ANR, were the promoters of the project.
The initiative was dealt with by the Chamber of Deputies, in an extraordinary session, yesterday, Tuesday. The congressmen of the Lower House approved with modifications. At the request of Basilio “Bachi” Núñez, leader of the Chartist caucus, governorates and municipalities were exempted from the cut. He now goes back to the Senate for study of him.
“We earned G. 32 million plus G. 3 million in fuel. We need more empathy with people who live on minimum wage. We have been debating to defend privileges for more than three hours,” said Núñez during the session.
LIBERAL LEGISLATORS
Edgar Acosta, national deputy for the PLRA, expressed that there are doubts about where the saved resources will be allocated.
“The Treasury will look for where it can best serve these resources. It should not be a concern of ours,” she commented.
Esmérita Sánchez, deputy for the PLRA, pointed out that the majority of her colleagues do not want the approval, but in the end they will end up voting in favor.
“Many districts do not have an ambulance. So we are the deputies who have to get the vehicles and provide them with fuel. Producers also ask for aid that must be addressed by legislators. You can talk about many things without the knowledge of the people in the field”, he stated.
Celeste Amarilla, a national deputy also for the PLRA, affirmed that each legislator deserves every drop of fuel they receive. She warned that it is a point of no return generated by legislators who have been in their seat for more than one term.
“They would have thought of this when they traveled the world in earlier periods. With money from the camera, when they ate snacks that they never ate before. They would have thought earlier. Many abused,” she noted.
ARTICLES
The two articles of the bill are as follows; article 1; the allocation, discount, exemption and delivery of fuel, personal cards or fuel quotas to the authorities and officials of the three powers of the State and of the agencies and entities of the state (OEE), including public companies and those of economy mixed, corporations with a majority shareholding of the State and the governorates and municipalities, in all its forms and permanently.
While article 2 establishes that the provisions of article 1 are exempted from health services, education, security, and/or vehicles of state institutions or entities whose purpose is not to carry out work inherent to the function designated by law.
