(Expansion) – Does a company have rights? Yes, dear readers. A huge company, which has been accused of operating in fraud to the Law? Also. Furthermore, could a huge company, with an army of lawyers, pockets full of cash, and networks of local and global influences fall into a state of helplessness in the face of an act of authority?
As unlikely as it sounds, it can happen.
And it happens today when, on the first day of September this year, the National Energy Control Center simply disconnected the “Enertek” cogeneration plant, owned by Iberdrola, due to the expiration of its generation permit. Sounds logical right?
Just as the expiration of a driver’s license should exclude us from driving on asphalt roads, a company with an expired license should be unplugged from the network.
To put ourselves in Iberdrola’s shoes, however, let’s imagine what follows: any of us’s license expires, but it is clear that our intention is to renew it. We have a car and also a reasonable expectation of continuing to use it.
Upon arriving at the window, in the same office that once issued us the now expired document, they warn us that, instead of type “A”, to continue in circulation, it is necessary to have a type “B” license. Well, in that case, even if it costs time and money, we go over the paperwork and wait our turn to obtain that license.
But it turns out that, in the opinion of that same office, we have committed an infraction that, in addition to imposing an astronomical fine on somewhat flimsy grounds, prevents us from circulating again.
Fortunately, there is a way to combat the behavior of the foul-mouthed bureaucrat who once granted me a license and who now capriciously denies it. Thus, I put a document in the precinct of the judge who studies my case, and with the blow of his gavel, he orders the cancellation of the fine if, according to law, I am justified.
In addition, while the reason for the refusal to change my license is clarified, it mandates that I be allowed to circulate normally. However, one day I find that the streets are closed – and only for me.
Something similar has happened to Iberdrola. The government of a State granted him permits; then another government of the same informed him that they are illegal. Without granting these accusations, the company requested another type of permit. The response of the bureaucracy was to punish him for alleged illegalities, in addition to blocking his way to regularize.
As an olive in the punitive cocktail, he fined her 9.145 million pesos, which is an amount, otherwise, unusual. For filing an amparo trial, a judge granted the company the suspension of the fine and also ordered Cenace not to disconnect its plants while the bureaucratic dump is clarified.
In any case, on September 1, coincidentally the same day as the presidential report, Enertek’s cables were severed, not because they should but because they can, bypassing the arm of justice.
This, dear readers, is a violation of a suspension and is a crime punishable by fine and jail. Unfortunately, getting him punished is almost impracticable. To do this, the Amparo Law marks a path so steep that one can collapse before brushing the heels of those responsible.
You will see: to start the punitive machinery, the affected party must go to a District Judge to file something called a “non-execution incident.” In natural language it is something like a complaint against a public official for disobeying the sentence. This judge must listen to those responsible so that they justify, or not, their non-compliance. Then, the same must be done before the Collegiate Circuit Court; and, as if that were not enough, the matter must escalate to the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation so that it decides whether or not the violation is justified.
If there is no basis or reason to support the default, the Court will order the separation of the person responsible and, without going to the prosecution, will consign him before the District Judge in Criminal Matters so that he can be judged, and, where appropriate, he will be punish.
It is easier to get to God and for him to impose a punishment on the bad official, either in this life or when he passes to a better one.
Everything indicates that this “incident”, as it was designed in the Amparo Law, makes the non-compliance of these officials, more than a crime, a delight, since it disables the judges and leaves defenseless those supposedly protected by Justice. Federal.
Editor’s note: Miriam Grunstein is a professor and researcher at Universidad ORT México and is an academic associate at Centro México at Rice University. She has also been an external professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching and coordinator of the Training Program for the Federal Government on Hydrocarbons at the University of Texas at Austin. Today she is a founding member of and runs the Energeeks blog. Follow her on . The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
