A Damning Indictment

La Prensa’s front-page lead on Monday March 1 was a damning indictment of the former Attorney General  and the people who appointed him.-

Until yesterday, Eduardo Ulloa, was the Attorney General of the Nation, who resigned from office in such a hurry that he seems to have fled or been thrown out of it.

 Since he took office – in January of last year – we citizens have gone to an insignificant level for him, because he was never held accountable for what he did or planned to do. He handled with absolute and unacceptable obscurantism an entity created to prosecute crime. And in his noisy stampede, he refused to give us a logical, sensible and credible explanation of the reasons that led him to leave office.

Too many questions remain unanswered. Only a few are listed in this issue, because the list is obviously much longer. And if Ulloa did not answer these questions when he was a civil servant, now it will  be less. It is ironic that one of the reasons why he was elected Attorney General –according to President Laurentino Cortizo– was because of his well-evaluated written communication skills, but especially oral communication, because in many cases he would have to answer questions of the media. But Ulloa, as his administration progressed, hid, barricaded himself in his office, precisely, so as not to answer for his actions, omissions and decisions. The entire process for his election, first by specialists, then by the President, and finally by the Cabinet, was a great disappointment.

Contrary to what Ulloa expresses in his resignation letter, public service can have difficult moments, but done conscientiously, without second agendas, effectively and selflessly, and with genuine love for the country, it will always be recognized and rewarded. There are not many cases, it is true, but there are examples in our history, although not so recent, because in recent decades politics has become a vehicle to make easy money at the expense of the State, something that Ulloa never had the determination to do. fight with courage and passion, as we all expected of him.

We hold the President of the Republic and his Cabinet directly responsible for the resounding failure represented by the management of Eduardo Ulloa at the head of the Public Ministry. Such a notable mistake in choosing the person who would be in charge of prosecuting the crimes is unforgivable. The Executive has also been indifferent to a serious situation, today there is no doubt that negligence in the face of the punishment of criminals – as the FATF list shows – is a threat to national security. He never corrected or paid attention to it, despite the obvious signs emanating from this institution.

The ineffectiveness of the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation only creates uncertainty, since, by shielding officials against serious investigations, it only encourages and aggravates the network of corruption that is taking over the State, at all levels. Ulloa has only been a nail in that coffin –not so imaginary– where the Government wants the country’s institutions to rest. We all hope that in this new opportunity to appoint his replacement, the Executive will have the decency to correct the course. The country cannot stand one more incompetent.