MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Penadés expelled from Uruguay's Senate

It was not an easy day for President Lacalle Pou, who had known the disgraced politician for 30 years

Uruguay's Senate unanimously voted Wednesday to expel Gustavo Penadés as a member after he was handed down 180 days of pre-trial detention for his alleged involvement in 22 sexual crimes, it was announced in Montevideo.

“It is approved then as we have read it the dismissal of former Senator Gustavo Penadés,” Vice-President and Senate Speaker Beatriz Argimón stressed. All 29 Senators present Wednesday gave Penadés their thumbs down.

All parties decided “the removal of the until today suspended Senator Gustavo Penadés,” under “Article 115 of the Constitution,” Senator Graciela Bianchi said. “Each House may correct any of its members for disorderly conduct in the performance of their duties and even suspend them in the exercise thereof, by a two-thirds vote of the total of its components. By an equal number of votes, it may remove him/her from office for physical impossibility or mental incapacity at the time of his/her incorporation, or for acts of conduct that make him/her unworthy of his/her office, after his/her proclamation. The majority of votes of those present will be enough to admit voluntary resignations,” the constitutional text goes.

“It is true that former Senator Gustavo Penadés has the presumption of innocence that will accompany him until the conviction is final, but the Senate, when it comes to the conduct of his peers, has a power similar to that of judges,” she also explained.

“We do not need to wait for the resolution of the Judiciary because we have enough conviction as senators that absolutely reprehensible acts have been committed,” she also pointed out.

Penadés had been elected to the Upper House on behalf of President Luis Lacalle Pou's National Party (PN). He resigned as a member of the PN on June 6 after being indicted for 22 crimes, among them, 11 crimes of retribution to the sexual exploitation of minors and four crimes of especially aggravated sexual abuse.

He was also charged with three crimes of aggravated sexual abuse, one crime of rape, contempt, corruption of minors, and one crime of violent indecent assault, all in a regime of real reiteration and as a perpetrator, Prosecution Spokesman Javier Benech told reporters Tuesday.

Penadés' alleged accomplice, History Professor Sebastián Mauvezín was also sentenced to 180 days in pre-trial detention.

At the request of the opposition Broad Front (Frente Amplio - FA), the Upper House also discussed whether to impeach Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber for his alleged maneuvering to protect Penadés. The FA senators demand that President Lacalle Pou order “a serious investigation” for the “plot” in the Ministry of the Interior aimed at helping Penadés, obstructing judicial investigations, and also for the espionage case in which the former presidential security chief, Alejandro Astesiano, was involved, which led to the prosecution of one of the managers of the firm Vertical Skies.

There is a “political responsibility” of Minister Heber, explained Senator Enrique Rubio, who also argued that “there was an attempt to block the investigation using levers and links that have to do with hierarchies of the Ministry of the Interior. This is added to previous situations and that is why we came to the conclusion to demand Heber's resignation, due to his political responsibility”.

Heber said he did not plan to leave his office and claimed there was no parallel police investigation. “In no way have I thought of leaving the Ministry, unless the President of the Republic asks me to do so or because of a censure in the Parliament. I am going to do it in March, even if the Frente Amplio does not like it,” Heber said. “The Ministry of Interior was always at the disposal of the Prosecutor's Office to collaborate in this case,” he added. He also admitted to being left with “deceit and betrayal” by Penadés. “It is a situation that we did not expect,” said Heber.

“It is not an easy day, it is a very sad day,” Lacalle said. He also explained he had spoken in favor of Penadés when the scandal erupted because “at that time there were no elements of proof.” The former parliamentarian is “not the person one knew; obviously, there was a lie,” the head of state pointed out. “At that time there was no evidence, testimonies, witnesses... I can't say 'I didn't say it,' but the situation has changed,” he elaborated.

The “vulnerability of minors ... is a serious and grave institutional issue, in terms of the crimes committed,” Lacalle also reckoned. “Personally, you can imagine that it is not an easy day,” he also told reporters about a person he claimed to have known “for 30 years” before the overwhelming evidence surfaced. “At that time there were no elements of proof, no testimonies, no witnesses,” he insisted.

“Unfortunately I am not surprised,” Lacalle also said about the FA's request for Heber's resignation.