Mauricio Oscar Zabala is one session of the Legislature away from becoming the fourth chief prosecutor of Neuquén capital and the sixth of the province, all men. On Tuesday he was interviewed in the Constitutional Affairs commission and his report was sent to the premises.
At 55 years old and with 29 years of experience in the Judiciary, this current Guarantee judge is close to returning to the Public Ministry where he grew up and where he spent the first 6 years of his career. It will be his farewell, he has five years left to retire although he slipped that if he is appointed, he could stay a while longer.
In response to questions from legislators, he said that agrees with lowering the age of punishment to 14 years. He was also in favor of the province assumes jurisdiction in the investigation of drug dealing. The main obstacle that it foresees to materialize it is the lack of enough prisons to lock up all the adolescents and drug retailers who would be imprisoned if these policies were applied.
The competition and the position
During the competition in the Judicial Council Zabala collected 65.93 pointsa number above the average (it is 55), product of 11.22 for background, 19 in the written exam, 16 in the oral exam and 19.71 in the personal interview.
The position in which he could assume occupies the top of the structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The function includes coordinating work teams, directing investigations and supporting the prosecution in jury trials (and in other trials when required). Also resolve the challenges presented against prosecutors in the case. Budgetarily, the chief prosecutors are in the highest category (except for the members of the Superior Court of Justice, attorney general and general defender), one step higher than the Guarantee judges and on par with the members of the Court of Appeal.
Go down to 14, but
It was the deputy Darío Peralta (UxP) who asked him about the lowering of the age of punishment. «A loss should be analyzed. Not since I was 12, but yes extend from 14 to 18 the imputability regarding serious acts“, answered.
«We have minors under 16 years of age, unimpeachable, committing very serious crimes with weapons. The vast majority of the little soldiers, who guard the drug sellers, are boys who are given a 110 motorcycle and a gun. It is an issue that we should address at a criminological level,” said Zabala.
He indicated that “it must be analyzed that the reduction (in the age of punishment) has a direct impact on prison systems, and today we have an emergency«. But he clarified: the overcrowding of detention units “It is one of the lowest in the country; We are 20% above prison capacity, and there are provinces like Buenos Aires that have double the number of prisoners compared to capacity.
In summary, he said that the decrease in age It cannot be implemented “in the state we are in”because it cannot be guaranteed that detainees go through the process without being mixed with adults or that receive real and effective treatments.
According to current law, adolescents They are punishable from the age of 16. The Minister of Justice of the Nation, Mariano Cúneo Libarona, announced in Neuquén 15 days ago that the presentation of a project to lower the age to 14 is imminent.
Drug dealing: desirable, but
When asked about drug dealing, Zabala immediately clarified that “the difference between Neuquén and Rosario is abysmal.”
Anyway, he said it’s “desirable, without a doubt” that Neuquén is in charge of combating the retail sale of drugs (currently it is a matter of federal justice). “The provincial police and prosecutor’s office have an insertion that the federal police and justice do not have,” he said.
Zabala warned that “we are not prepared to assume” that task, “from many aspects. First of all, the prisons are not enough to house more detainees.
«It also requires legislative norms – he continued – to create figures such as covert witnesses, repentants, modes of electronic intervention with Trojans that require authorization. Specific preparation and structures are needed..
As reported RÍO NEGRO newspaperthere is a national law that invite the provinces to adhere to what is known as “defederalization of drug dealing.” What is less mentioned is the debate over resources: Fighting this type of crime costs a lot of money. National law guarantees the transfer of funds to the provinces, which is not always fulfilled.
Road closures
There are questions in these interviews that have a predefined template; For example the candidate’s position on roadblocks. Zabala’s response was also cookie-cutter: “we must analyze the rights that are at stake.”
He pointed out that “there are cuts that are a consequence of very long negotiations without adequate solution » Therefore, it is necessary to “evaluate the seriousness of what is under discussion and the treatment it has received by the State.”
Zabala issued an emblematic ruling: he condemned the former general secretary of the Sitramune municipal union, Santiago Baudino, for cutting Argentina Avenue. “It seemed to me that in that case, the preponderant right was to transit,” she said. Sentence was revoked in another instance.
