Keeping Family in the National Assembly

Of the 71 deputies of the National Assembly, 13 of them have relatives working in the Assembly, the Executive Branch or the Foreign Service, La Prensa Reports.

Among those who have wifes, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and brothers-in-law on the government payroll are:  Carlos Afú, Aris De Icaza, Dalia Bernal, Rogelio Paredes, Benicio Robinson, Héctor Aparicio, Rogelio Baruco, Francisco Brea, Nelson Jackson and Iracema Dale.

Article 41 of the Public Servant Code of Ethics instructs deputies to abstain from hiring family members but does not punish the act.  Deputies may hire personnel for their offices – a minimum of a secretary, a driver and a helper – at their discretion and have $4,000 a month to pay that staff.