When Guatemalans demanded vaccines against Covid-19 due to the high spread of the virus and the increase in deaths of people of all ages, the promise of Alejandro Giammattei’s government to protect the population from the coronavirus rested on the purchase of 16 million of doses of Sputnik V, the biological that was developed by Russia.
The acquisition took place in the shadows, with the signing of a contract whose terms are unknown to this day. Amelia Flores, Minister of Health of the last administration, was the one who announced on March 30, 2021 that Guatemala had entered into negotiations with the company Human Vaccine LLC, and that Q614.5 million would be paid, which corresponded to 50% of the purchase. to receive 8 million doses initially.
The opacity of the terms of the negotiation was maintained throughout the Giammattei government, alleging that there were terms of confidentiality in the contract and that they had to be respected, to the point that the new authorities of the Ministry of Health are unaware of what the country agreed with the Russians. .
The Minister of Health, Oscar Cordón, said in an interview with Prensa Libre that they have not had access to the purchase agreement and that the few documents that they have been able to review about this case indicate that this is a “leonine contract” that in no way favors Guatemala.
“When we first took office we were informed that this contract was under reserve. However, we have believed that we cannot continue waiting for the contract to expire to know what its clauses are, so that we are following a joint process with the Attorney General’s Office, with whom we are going to meet soon.” said the official.
Since Flores announced that the country had made an agreement with Human Vaccine LLC, its legality was questioned, among other things, because the purchase of the vaccines was made through an intermediary. The signing of this agreement was done through one of the company’s directors, Alexander Chistyakov.
But the Guatemalan Executive disclosed at that time that the contract was signed with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and that the payment was made to the Limited Liability Company Human Vaccine, an investment agency of the Russian government. .
Another question was the lack of a schedule to receive the eight million doses for which the country had already paid. It was not until May 5, 2021 that the first shipment arrived, a total of 50 thousand vaccines, without it being clear when the others would arrive in the country.
20 batches of vaccines entered Guatemala in dribs and drabs, the last one arriving was 2.4 million doses on December 30, 2021, in order to complete the 8 million for which Russia was paid, although four million 824 thousand 524 were lost. by expiration date.
“We have prepared a timeline of everything we have been able to see in documents from that process, where we identify the most critical parts of the negotiation process. From what we have been able to observe, we have verified that the contract is completely leonine, there is not a single clause that safeguards the interests of the State,” said Cordón.
“We do not understand how the Attorney General’s Office, when asked for an opinion, could not rule in favor of the State,” he added.
Oscar Cordón assumed the position of Minister of Health in the administration of Bernardo Arévalo. (Free Press Photo: Oscar Vásquez Mijangos)
Cordón took office a week ago as Minister of Health, and although he had contact with the authorities who preceded him in a government transition process that lasted weeks, he has not had access to the contract that was signed with Human Vaccine, and assured that only those involved in the negotiation have access to it. At the moment he does not know their names, but “once we open that document we will have all the information.”
Although this was what they inherited from the previous administration, they stated that they do not accept this confidentiality clause, and that they will proceed administratively and legally, following State procedures.
Dropper income
Given the constant delays in the delivery of vaccines to the country, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, Pedro Brolo Vila, traveled to Russia in June 2021 to hold a meeting with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to request his support in the delivery of vaccines. Sputnik V doses to Guatemala.
After that visit it was learned that Brolo was not unaware of the terms of the contract that was signed with the Russians. The vice ministers of Health were also not aware of the document, and it was not until Flores left office and Francisco Coma took his place that an addendum to the Sputnik V purchase agreement was revealed, which established that the delivery process of another 8 million doses could occur between 2022 and 2023.
The contract is about to expire in March 2024, but at the moment it is unknown if the country is obliged to continue purchasing doses from Russia.
“In the hypothetical case that we had followed the procedure, yes, but obviously that is not going to happen. The contract expires at the end of March.
However, it is not just whether we have to comply or not, but we have to deduce the responsibilities of the people who agreed to a contract of that nature,” Cordón said.
What will happen now? The minister mentioned two points, one, the internal analysis with the Attorney General’s Office from the Guatemalan Legal System, and two, having the advice of an international law firm that allows the country to be prepared when the contract has to be litigated. .
Research in development
In May 2021, it was learned that the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Ministry (MP) began an investigation into the purchase process of the Russian Sputnik V vaccines given the doubts surrounding the negotiation. To date, the progress of the investigations by the investigating entity is unknown.
The case is being handled by the Fourth Criminal Court of First Instance, and the hearing to advance evidence was scheduled for last November, and although the MP was consulted on several occasions about holding it, no response was obtained.
What is known is that the 4.8 million doses of the Russian vaccine that expired – due to the short expiration date with which they entered the country – remain in the National and Biological Center of the Ministry of Health, since they cannot be destroyed. by being part of the investigation that is ongoing.
Cordón mentioned that in this questioned purchase “legal advisors from international law firms are involved. The issue is not only at the local level, but we believe, from what we have been able to identify so far, that there are ways in which the State of Guatemala can defend itself from that contract, which clearly does not satisfy or did not satisfy the needs of the population”.
The minister pointed out that they will turn to the Attorney General’s Office (PGN), as it is the institution that defends the interests of the State, and that audits were requested from the Comptroller General of Accounts in order to “prepare the case.”
When asked if the Russian company has requested any approach with the new government authorities to establish what proceeds with the contract for the purchase of Sputnik V vaccines that expires next March, the official said “no,” and that in the Last year, the authorities that preceded him did not have that contact with Human Vaccine either.
8 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine entered the country. (Photo Prensa Libre: Hemeroteca PL)
More vaccines against covid-19
On December 24, the Ministry of Health received a donation of 100 thousand doses against covid-19 from the Moderna brand.
Cordón said that they are in the process of distributing them, but also of raising awareness among the population about the benefits of the vaccine, to prevent them from expiring as happened with Sputnik V and other brands during 2022.
The doses that recently entered Guatemala expire next May, but there is an indication from the manufacturer of “a safety window” to be able to use it after that date. The priority is to vaccinate the most vulnerable groups.
With the donation that came in in December, in Cordón’s opinion the doses are sufficient to serve the population at this time, and that the behavior of the virus must be analyzed before purchasing more biological.
“It is important to maintain the prevention campaign, we have not come out of that, nor are we going to come out of being exposed, not only to that virus but to others, but we have learned the lesson of the previous campaign, that the awareness of the population, the The involvement of groups at the community level, at the local level, is essential,” he added.
2024-01-26 11:00:44
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