The deputies of the ruling party in Guatemala, from the Movimiento Semilla bench, reported on Monday that they are against a salary increase for legislators and that they will donate part of their remuneration to social programs. This was detailed by the 23 deputies of the Movimiento Semilla party, of Guatemalan president Bernardo Arévalo de León, during a press conference in Parliament, which has a total of 160 seats.
"The 23 deputies of Semilla will allocate this increase each month to a social fund to return the money that belongs to the people of Guatemala," legislator Samuel Pérez Álvarez stated. "For this first month, we will be providing the contribution to the Volunteer Firefighters," Pérez Álvarez added.
The salary increase was paid since last Friday to the 160 deputies that make up the Guatemalan Congress, after the measure was approved last year. The increase was approximately $4,000 and caused the deputies' salary to rise from 29,000 quetzals (about $3,700) to 60,000 quetzals ($7,700).
Pérez Álvarez, supported by his bench during the press conference, indicated that the decision is due to the fact that they cannot legally revoke the measure as they are a minority in Congress. The salary increase for the deputies has generated strong criticism on social media, including possible calls for protests against the legislators.
The decree that enabled the measure was validated last November with the vote of 87 deputies, primarily from the Vamos party, of former president Alejandro Giammattei, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, of former first lady Sandra Torres, and Valor, of former diplomat Edmond Mulet.
The Movimiento Semilla was created as a result of the fight against corruption exposed since 2015 after the fall of the Government of Otto Pérez Molina due to a bribery scandal.
