Amado Díaz defends Rafael Pérez’s permanence in the Border Affairs Commission
Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) deputy, Amado Díaz, addressed the controversy generated by the continued tenure of Rafael Pérez as head of the Chamber of Deputies’ Standing Committee on Border Affairs. The legislator for Pedernales, who recently left the People’s Force (FP) to join the ranks of the ruling party, has been the subject of criticism from his former political organization, which is demanding his resignation from the presidency of said committee.
Díaz was emphatic in pointing out that there is no historical precedent or regulatory provision in the National Congress that forces a legislator to leave a committee chairmanship after changing political parties. According to the congressman, this demand seems to respond more to personal motivations and political feuds than to a solid legal basis.
Never in the republican history of Congress has anyone who left a party given up the committee to which they belong. The presidencies belong to the deputies and, when a legislator decides to leave a caucus, they go with the prerogative they have attained over it.
Amado Díaz, PRM Deputy
Legal arguments and precedents
To support his position, the ruling party deputy recalled previous cases where other congressmen moved through various political organizations and maintained their positions in legislative commissions, such as Tobías Crespo, Rafael Castillo, and Yudelka de la Rosa. Díaz maintains that the Fuerza del Pueblo is attempting to create a non-existent jurisprudence to pressure the legislator from Pedernales.
- The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, lacks the legal authority to remove a committee chair.
- The spokespersons of the parliamentary groups do not have the regulatory authority to remove a deputy from their duties within a committee.
- Rafael Pérez’s decision to remain in office is a personal prerogative that the PRM has no intention of curtailing.
Tensions in Congress
This conflict has escalated in recent legislative sessions, leading to verbal confrontations and the withdrawal from the chamber by members of the Fuerza del Pueblo bench. The debate over the formation and leadership of the standing committees continues to be a point of friction, as political forces in the National Congress seek to define the balance of power in the current legislature.
