Samuel Garcia’s entanglements: interests versus institutions | Article

Rogelio Muñiz Toledo

“The Great Achievement of Democratic Constitutionalism
is that the crisis also needs to be solved
from the Constitution and through the Constitution”

Jorge Reynaldo A. Vanossi*

The legal-political confusion that has become the issue of the license requested by the Governor of Nuevo León Samuel Garcia Sepulvedastep aside from office for six months to become a presidential candidate Citizens’ movement This ended in disaster for his intended candidacy and for the party.

The fate of the aforementioned nomination has been sealed ever since the governor, who claims to have earned two doctorates in law, one of which is nothing less than constitutional law and government, decided to go beyond the constitution to determine who would compensate him absence. without having the authority to do so.

Neither the state Congress nor parties opposed to his government dropped him from the race, and the “old politics” did not undermine his candidacy. He lost his temper when he realized that his strategy to achieve his goal was not working: to continue his adventure in the fight for the presidential candidacy without losing political and administrative control over the state government.

In this conspiracy, almost all the actors – politicians and lawyers – made mistakes or excesses. With the honorable exception of the country’s two constitutional courts, the Supreme Court of the Nation and the Electoral Tribunal of the Judiciary of the Federation, the rest – the Governor, the State Congress and other intervening judges – have done their part, one way or another, to further confuse the matter.

All the political players involved in this imbroglio have contributed to a deepening political crisis that could develop into a constitutional crisis. There has always been a perception that the Governor, the parliamentary groups in the state Congress and national party leaders are seeking to put their political interests above democratic institutions and governance in the state.

I think the president is wrong Lopez Obrador and senator Ricardo Montreal criticizing the Supreme Court for exercising its powers in this case. We already know that neither a political scientist nor a doctor of law has the means to control the constitutionality of acts of government.

Contrary to what they think, it seems to me that it is undoubtedly good news for constitutional democracy that the Supreme Court has fulfilled its constitutional function by ruling on the requested suspension in a timely manner – and taking appropriate precautions – in the event of constitutional disputes. raised by the State Congress and the Governor. Their decisions guaranteed the rule of law and did not allow political, party and personal interests to prevail over institutions.

These confusing situations show us the predominance of a presidential political culture, authoritarian and alien to constitutional democracy, rooted in the PRI regime. Paradoxically, whoever runs for president to fight “old policy”and that in doing so he would not be able to fulfill the promise he made when elected that he would be governor for 6 years, he used tricks that corresponded to what he said he was struggling with and that brought him to leadership in just The pre-nomination failed for 10 days, leaving the Citizens’ Movement facing difficulties in identifying its candidate for 2024.

It has also been shown that certain unwritten rules of the Mexican political system regarding the constitutional provisions governing the granting of licenses to popularly elected offices and the appointment of those who will replace those separated from these public offices cease to apply. … be functional when personal, political or party interests prevail over the institutions, rules and values ​​of democracy.

The temptation to revoke a candidate’s license to hold office in order to prevent him from participating in the electoral contest, as well as the impossibility of achieving consensus in the appointment of those who would succeed those leaving office, were evident not only in the case of Nuevo León. it is not exclusive to PRI and PAN.

“In San Juan it is also windy and sometimes stormy”: in Mexico City we also saw similar temptations arise. For political reasons, the majority of Morena and her allies in Mexico City’s Congress refused Mayor Alvaro Obregon’s request to extract the PAN. Leah LemonThe 30-day license he requested to participate in the internal process in which the opposition alliance will determine its candidacy for the post of head of government.

The same Morenista majority in the Congress of Mexico City prevented the timely granting of the request for a final license, which is also a member of the PAN. Santiago Taboada, Mayor of Benito Juárez and former opposition front candidate for head of government, resigned from office with immediate effect; which jeopardizes the exercise of their political and electoral rights to participate in the 2024 elections.

The PAN member had to go to the Mexico City Electoral Court to defend his right, and that court was required to unanimously approve the license requested by Taboada. Only after the court’s decision did Congress also approve the license.

This was a jurisdictional decision based on the precedents of the Supreme Chamber of the Electoral Court of the Judiciary of the Federation, which the local court summarized in its ruling as follows: “It is sufficient for the person concerned to request a license from the relevant authority “for its operation”; the foregoing by virtue of the fact that “what really matters is that those who obtain registration as provisional candidates or candidates for popularly elected office substantially relinquish the functions they performed as public servants… regardless regardless of whether they have been approved or not, the licenses they have granted.”

One final note regarding Candidate of the Civil Movement for the post of President of the Republic for 2024. I see that there is a discussion about which of the individuals mentioned are prohibited from doing this because they did not deviate from their position no later than December 2nd.

Article 82 of the Constitution is very clear. The only people who will be prohibited are those who serve in the army, those who occupy the secretariat or undersecretary of state, the attorney general of the republic, governors and the head of the government of Mexico City. Moreover, in accordance with the provisions of Article 41 of the Constitution, the Presidential Adviser, Electoral Advisers and the Executive Secretary of the INE cannot be candidates for two years after the date of completion of their office.

Senators, deputies, municipal presidents and mayors are not constitutionally disqualified for failing to resign from office no later than December 2. Dante DelgadoPatricia Mercado, who has repeatedly stated that she is not interested in the presidential candidacy, Jorge Alvarez Maines and Luis Donaldo Colosio, who was also expelled, has no constitutional impediment due to this fact.

* Dr. Jorge Reynaldo A. Vanossi is a professor of constitutional and political law. He was Minister of Justice and Human Rights and National Deputy of Argentina.