In an express analysis of less than 24 hours, the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Congress of Nuevo Leon unanimously declared the impeachment against Governor Samuel Garcia to be admissible, for allegedly violating the Constitution and various laws.
With this resolution, the trial against Garcia Sepulveda formally begins, who must report in writing or in person no later than Thursday, August 22 at 4:00 p.m. his defense report. In addition, he must appoint a lawyer to defend him.
“The impeachment trial against Mr. SAMUEL ALEJANDRO GARCÍA SEPÚLVEDA, HEAD OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE STATE OF NUEVO LEON begins. The Chief Clerk is instructed to summon the accused through the Legal Department of Congress to inform this Commission of what is in his interest, forwarding copies of the complaint and other documents that comprise it, and indicating the following dates and times for his respective report. The accused are requested to inform, if applicable, the name of his defense attorney or if he will require one to be appointed from the State Public Defense Institute,” agreed the Commission.
For his part, Carlos de la Fuente, coordinator of the PAN, mentioned that, although the trial has begun, it cannot yet be determined what the sanction will be. “He can come personally, he can send the report based on his legal strategy and based on that now the Commission will have to analyze the governor’s response to move forward with the request for impeachment that they are making based on the facts presented, nothing has been defined yet, it is only being entered,” assured De la Fuente.
For her part, Jessica Martínez, a local deputy for the PRI, indicated that it is most likely that not all the content will be reviewed in this Legislature. “It may be a little clearer, it already comes with a position from the Supreme Court and also the local Court, there are many issues in a single document but many of them already have a meaning and we must resolve them,” said Martínez.
Movimiento Ciudadano defends the governor
In contrast, José Alfredo Pérez Bernal, a local deputy for MC, described the attempt by the PRI and PAN to remove the governor as a coup d’état. “These are serious crimes under the federal penal code, this attempt to seize power, to overthrow a power in this case a coup d’état disguised as legality. That is what the PRI and PAN are trying to do. According to them, they analyzed a file that was presented just yesterday by the president of a party, the person in charge of a party, a federal deputy, and it is a file of 800 pages, and in 10 minutes it was already analyzed, analysis on the knees,” added Pérez Bernal.
Why is Samuel García in the middle of an impeachment trial?
The complaint filed by the PRI and PAN, according to the Commission, contains evidence that, once verified, leads to the presumption of the existence of violations contained in sections VI and VII of the Impeachment Law of the State of Nuevo Leon and the probable responsibility of the accused in the seven events described in the complaint. This merits the initiation of the procedure.
“The Commission does not lose sight of the fact that, in accordance with constitutional controversy 31/2023 issued by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the constitutional validity of the Impeachment Law of the State of Nuevo León was recognized. On the other hand, in said constitutional determination, the Supreme Court of the country declared the invalidity of article 203, second paragraph of the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, in the normative portion that specifically states that at the moment in which the State Congress declares whether there is grounds for further proceedings, the accused is removed from office for that sole fact,” they established in the considerations.
The impeachment complaint against Governor Samuel García is for allegedly violating at least 18 constitutional articles and five articles of secondary laws in seven allegedly proven facts, mainly by seven resolutions of the Supreme Court and three resolutions of the Superior Chamber of the TEPJF.
One of the main reasons for the trial is the case of the Financial and Economic Intelligence Unit (UIFE). According to the accusers, the Supreme Court sentenced the governor for not publishing the decree of said body, determining that García violated the principle of separation of powers in the most serious degree, which is subordination, within the constitutional controversy 272/2022.
In addition, the deputies accused that the governor continues to violate the Constitution by not publishing at least 23 decrees and more than 100 legislative agreements, apart from the 56 decrees already denounced in an ongoing political trial. “The intention of the local executive power is to paralyze the legislative procedure and that this Supreme Court provisionally validates an omission by the Executive to not publish the decrees,” they warned.
Regarding the vetoes, they pointed out that García has vetoed decisions of Congress. The Supreme Court, in dismissing several constitutional controversies (341/2023 and 262/2023) related to vetoes, warned that “the intention of the local executive power is to paralyze the legislative procedure and that this Supreme Court provisionally validates an omission by the Executive to not publish the decrees.” This situation was described as fraudulent by the highest court.
Improper use of public resources and electoral propaganda
Another critical point is the improper use of public resources. The Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Branch of the Federation (TEPJF) sentenced the governor for carrying out personalized promotion, violating the principles of impartiality and neutrality, and using public resources during his failed presidential pre-campaign.
Likewise, the Superior Chamber also warned the governor for using religious symbols in electoral propaganda, which violates the principle of secularism and separation between State and church. This conduct was also described as serious by the electoral court.
Source: infobae
