The senator Luis Judge expressed strong criticism of the vice president and president of the Senate, Victoria Villarruelfor the delay in the decision to freeze legislators’ allowances. According to the Judge, the measure already had broad consensus in the legislative body and there were no reasons to postpone it.
“I don’t know why the president took so long of the body to do what corresponds to it,” said Judge, pointing out that for weeks the block presidents had expressed their willingness to suspend the updating of salaries. As he explained, the path was clear: “The last thing that was said was that the diets should be frozen. Until the presidents of the blocks meet and modify that decision, that was what was in force, the will expressed in the suspension of the diets.”
The senator also denied the arguments that justified the delay due to the lack of regular sessions. “ANDso it’s a lie. Not necessarily”he stressed. Furthermore, he criticized the fact that meetings of the legislative unions had not been called to negotiate joint agreements: “There is no joint agreement, there is absolutely nothing. I don’t know what will be updated if the legislative union did not even meet with the presidents of the chambers to discuss”.
For Judge, this delay unnecessarily exposed the senators: “It exposed absolutely all of us. You have been asking about this topic for a month and a half. From mid-December until today, every time the phone rang it was a journalist asking me about the diets, when it was already clear that they were frozen.”
The judge asked that these types of decisions be debated formally and openly, avoiding processes that generate suspicion: “There has to be a parliamentary work meeting where the presidents establish the mechanics. The logical thing would be for this to be part of a debate, in a special session, with a specific agenda. Let no one feel that their right has been violated,” he highlighted in dialogue with Delta 90.3.
Finally, he considered that the measure should have been taken with greater foresight: “This should have been done 30 days ago, when the discussion began and we already knew that there would be no extraordinary sessions or calls”. Villarruel’s resolution, which extends the freezing of diets until March 2025, puts a pause on the debate. However, Judge’s criticisms reflect internal tensions and the need to improve management and communication in the Senate.
by RN
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