The political opposition is not in favor of the Jesuits’ case being reopened, a matter that arose with the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, which admitted the previous Wednesday an injunction filed by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) against the Criminal Chamber, which had sent the case to the archive.
ARENA deputy Francisco Lira emphasized that it should be closed. “I think it was already a discussed topic. Even the Catholic Church has mentioned it. They are smoke screens that want to divert attention from resolving issues that affect the population,” said the ARENA member and legislator.
He added that, in his opinion, “you have to be mature” to address the issues that interest the population.
On the other hand, FMLN deputy Marleni Funes affirmed that the decision of the Constitutional Chamber is due to the fact that its magistrates seek “legitimacy” before the Salvadoran population.
“What this court seeks in all ways is to legitimize itself before the Salvadoran population, because the way it was imposed reduces its credibility. I would invite them to not only reopen the case of the Jesuits, but also to present the files of the El Mozote case,” said Funes, mixing two massacres committed in different places.
This position contrasts with the demand for justice that the left-wing party maintained for decades, but now undervalues when the case can be reopened and the masterminds of the crime against humanity can be prosecuted.
The massacre was perpetrated by members of the Atlacatl Battalion on November 13, 1989, on the campus of the José Simeón Cañas Central American University (UCA). Alfredo Cristiani —of the ARENA party— was president of the republic and general commander of the Armed Forces.
For the legal secretary of the presidency, Javier Argueta, “we all deserve to know the truth and justice about the intellectual authors of this fact,” he reaffirmed, and regretted that the UCA had not issued a favorable ruling in relation to the recent constitutional ruling.
For the political analyst and sociologist Mauricio Rodríguez, the reopening of the case is something positive. “Criminal responsibilities may be deducted and those involved in the massacre, where elements of the Armed Forces are involved, some of whom are already being punished by other countries, such as Spain and the United States, are brought before the competent authorities,” he said.