THE Justice of Uruguay took a vital step this Tuesday to get the removal of Alfredo Sanchezwhich is popularly known as the “mayor of the thousand gauchadas” for the corruption crimes which he committed during his tenure as head of the Uruguayan city of Florencio Sanchezin the department of Colony.
In particular, the Supreme Court of that country rejected an appeal of unconstitutionality that Sánchez had filed, which is now faces impeachment in the Senate He had been paralyzed for several months.
The trial will also concern several of his relatives, who are also involved in the corruption case: his son, district mayor of Cologne; his daughter, who belongs to the mayor’s line of deputies; and her daughter-in-law, who is a neighborhood councilor.
In September 2021, Sánchez, along with five family members, was sentenced to two years in prison and one year of probation, with a ban on holding public office for two years, for being found guilty of several Crimes against the public administrationsuch as fraud, conspiracy, synthesis, concealment and ideological falsification.
The investigation began following a complaint filed in December 2018, when it was noted that the Municipality had delivered to people who had not paid the related fines, motorcycles that had been seized by a policeman. One of the witnesses testified to the police the mayor returned the motorcycle “in exchange for getting him votes”.
It has also been confirmed that Sánchez used public resources to finance electoral campaigns. In addition, he has delivered food baskets, bus tickets and building materials, among other things, to members of his party.
after passing 14 months behind barsSánchez was released from prison in early December 2022. He was the only one of six convicted in the case to remain in prison.
The question of unconstitutionality and the reasons why the Justice has rejected it
The request for indictment against him began in October 2021 in the Chamber of Senators, at the request of the Departmental Council of Cologne, which was trying to prevent Sánchez from holding positions in that municipality of Cologne at the end of 2023.
However, in June 2022, the former mayor filed a unconstitutionality action against article 18 of law 19.272 on Decentralization and citizen participation, which is precisely what allows departmental councils to impose on the Senate to carry out political trials against members of a municipality.
The lawyer’s thesis Federico Alvarez Petragliawho filed an appeal in favor of his client, stated that the Constitution does not contemplate the possibility of initiating a political trial against a municipal member, but only the Court of Cassation “is the one that can promote, process and eventually condemn”.
just this Wednesday The Justice of Uruguay rejected the request of unconstitutionality and unblocked the process. As the opinion specifies, “since the office of statutory auditor is a position of a similar nature to those envisaged by article 93 of the Constitution, it is appropriate that the impeachment which recalls the law be applied to them”.
It is that, according to the contract, it would be “an elected office whose holder could not be removed from it”, i.e. that “a mayor who commits a crime, or flagrantly violates the Constitution, could not be removed from his position .” , That “there would be clear impunity of the people who hold” that position.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.