Sucre, November 30 (RHC)-- The lawyer of the Bolivian Justice Impulse Committee, Aldo Michel, has warned against attempts to turn a corruption trial against former de facto president Jeanine Áñez into a trial of responsibilities with privileges.

"We will not assume, we will not accept a move that is aimed to position old pacts with the right wing to continue promoting impunity, which at this time became a new attempt of coup and separatist action," he said in a statement sent to Prensa Latina via Internet.

Michel criticized the decision of the third anti-corruption judge Hébert Torrejón, who summoned a hearing for this Tuesday, which was postponed until Friday, December 2nd.  He considered that behind this summons there is another maneuver that has been in place for a long time, which intends to turn the corruption process called Empresa Boliviana de Alimentos (EBA) into a process of responsibilities.

The Public Prosecutor's Office formally charged Áñez for the commission of the crimes of resolutions contrary to the Political Constitution of the State and the laws, breach of duties and illegal appointments and requests his preventive detention while the investigations continue.

This case investigates the illegal appointment of an EBA manager who allegedly did not meet the requirements to hold the position.  The crime was committed between November 2019 and November 2020, during the de facto government.

According to the investigations, the cousin of the former governor, Karina Leiva Áñez, did not meet the requirements for the high position to which she was assigned, such as not being a graduate of a bachelor's degree.  Michel recalled that last October 13, Judge Torrejón rejected an action that tried to prosecute Áñez again by means of a trial of responsibilities, which would grant her the possibility of getting out of jail.  "But, in addition, it would benefit all the operators of the coup of November 2019, who are being prosecuted through ordinary and criminal proceedings", indicated the lawyer.

In Michel's opinion, this action denotes the existence of a political pact for impunity, which is now operating from the new coup attempts in Santa Cruz.  He considered that among these "conciliations" are the coincidences between some representatives of the ruling party and the opposition to position a law that he described as "unnecessary" and that gave the possibility of leaving with some "honor" to those who operated for 36 days a strike with violence in Santa Cruz and prospects of coup d'état and separatism.

Questioned by Prensa Latina about the role of the Comité Impulsor de Justicia in Bolivia's current situation, Michel insisted that its main objective is to fight against impunity.