Breathe
By Patricia Mercado
This Tuesday, the majority of the Chamber of Deputies voted to reject the request for a Declaration of Proceedings against Cuauhtémoc Blanco for the alleged crime of attempted rape, for which reason he maintains his parliamentary immunity as a federal deputy.
This was a very painful decision, which calls into question the claims that "it is time for women" and that "we all arrived" after the parity in the Congresses and the election of the first woman president of the Republic, Claudia Sheinbaum. However, this episode leaves us with several lessons.
We must remember that the fuero is, above all, a privilege, a rule that applies especially to a person or group. The figure in Mexico comes from the old colonial fuero, in which people had to be judged in courts according to their class or social position. With the advent of the constitutional order, most of the privileges and privileges were abolished and, in the rest of the world, the ecclesiastical and military privileges are gradually disappearing in the face of the advance of universal human rights.
Parliamentary immunity, which some call parliamentary immunity, exists to protect congressmen and congresswomen from any reprisal or legal action for their opinions, votes or actions in the exercise of their office. Thus, parliamentary immunity makes sense when it is aimed at protecting the freedom and independence of legislators as political representatives of the citizenry, by preventing persecution from compromising the right to dissent and to demand accountability from parliament.
The Sexual Crimes Prosecutor's Office of the Attorney General's Office of Morelos requested the Declaration of Proceedings against Cuauhtémoc Blanco for attempted rape during his tenure as governor of that state, a conduct that reaches up to 23 years in prison for a family relationship in the state Penal Code.
The task of the Instructing Section and the Plenary was very simple: to assess whether Blanco should face criminal proceedings at this time or not. It is not up to the deputies to pronounce on the investigation, but it is up to us to point out that gender violence is sustained by power relations that inhibit reporting: the same for sexual crimes as for economic violence or harassment at work.
The position held by the former governor made it necessary to approve the request to proceed so that the Prosecutor's Office could obtain evidence to support the accusation. By rejecting the desafuero request, we open the door to intimidation, influence, threats or bribes, and postpone -indefinitely- the resolution of the case.
It is worth remembering that, last year, we reformed Articles 4 and 21 of the Political Constitution, at the proposal of President Sheinbaum, to establish that the State has reinforced duties of protection towards women, teenagers, girls and boys. This implies that we do not make an exception and that we do not tolerate special treatment when investigating alleged crimes against women.
For the Chamber of Deputies, the enhanced duty to protect women means understanding that positions of power can sustain gender-based violence and lead to impunity. Therefore, in my opinion, the Chamber should not reject any request made by the authorities on these grounds. Even less so in the case of a deputy who has been singled out for various aggressions, which must be resolved by the competent authorities.
The privilege of a public servant not to be prosecuted cannot be maintained in the face of a complaint of sexual violence. This was a moment to demonstrate a broad consensus against the impunity that assaulted women face, as we could allow for a more equitable process between the victim and the former governor. The majority, however, voted against the continuation of the criminal process and for Blanco to face a judge like any other person.
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