logo
ES EN

Editorial: El País

Tribunal de garantías
July 21, 2024

  • The Junta de Andalucía dedicated 680 million euros to a program to help companies in crisis during the Government of the PSOE from 2000 to 2010.
  • The program, which financed the early retirement of workers, caused a colossal fraud under the socialist mandate due to the lack of surveillance mechanisms.
  • Corruption spread throughout the Ministry of Employment, where the distribution of these funds was decided.
  • In 2019, executives of the Ministry of Employment and part of the Andalusian Government, including former presidents José Antonio Griñán and Manuel Chaves, were convicted of prevarication and embezzlement.
  • The Constitutional Court has recently nullified these convictions on the grounds that there can be no prevarication in the approval of a Budget Law.
  • The sentences in part repair the damage caused to the convicted PSOE leaders and distinguish between the penal and political sphere.

Conclusion: While the management of the aid program did trigger a significant corruption case, the recent decision by the Constitutional Court serves to underscore the separation of powers, protect constitutional rights, and delineate statutory liability.