The Ombudsman was pronounced after the recent appointment of the new ministerial cabinet led by the president of the Minister council, Hector Valer. Along these lines, he considered that the appointments transgress the constitutional mandates to fight corruption and crime, a guarantee of human rights and good administration. Therefore, it is up to the president peter castle recompose his cabinet in the shortest possible time, appointing new ministers who meet the aforementioned constitutional requirements.
In its statement, the Ombudsman recalled that “since August 2021, the presidential power to appoint ministers is not unrestricted, since it is subject to a set of parameters contained in the Constitution that are mandatory for the head of state” .
In addition, they argued that “the fight against corruption and all forms of crime, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, is a constitutional obligation. In this sense, it forms a minimum standard that must be met when appointing ministers. For this reason, it is unacceptable that several of the members of the cabinet register convictions or judicial proceedings in process.”
In the same sense, they detailed that “it is serious, therefore, that in the current cabinet there is evidence of the presence of ministers who have seriously affected them through their actions and speeches. Ministers who maintain accusations of family violence against women, children and adolescents, or deny sexual diversity, cannot continue in office. It should be remembered that inequality, violence and discrimination against the aforementioned groups constitute serious problems that historically afflict the country. For this reason, we have indicated that those who assume the responsibility of directing public policies to confront them must show a comprehensive commitment to them.”
Finally, he recalled that, according to the Constitution, “it is the obligation of the president to guarantee the smooth running of the public administration, which is only possible by appointing people with proven knowledge and experience in private and public management to ministerial positions. However, it is clear in the cabinet the presence of ministers with little or no training for the portfolio they must manage. This fact affects the provision of services to citizens, damaging their rights.”
