Paraguay
Bacchetta said Hernán Rivas’ conviction exposes a network of complicity
The former senator said the eight-year prison sentence is only part of the case. According to what he told ABC TV, other responsibilities for the former lawmaker’s arrival at the Jury of Magistrates’ Prosecution must still be investigated.
The former senator and former president of the Jury of Magistrates’ Prosecution, Enrique Bacchetta, said in statements to ABC TV that the eight-year prison sentence against former cartista lawmaker Hernán Rivas for a law degree with false content represents progress, but does not exhaust the responsibilities in the case.
According to ABC Color, Bacchetta said the ruling shows the institutional gravity of the episode and maintained that the investigation did not reach the entire structure that, in his view, made it possible for Rivas to reach that position.
The former lawmaker recalled that in 2020 he denounced that Rivas did not have the required training for the post. He also pointed out that, after speaking with him, he detected basic shortcomings in legal matters. According to ABC Color, Bacchetta at that time sent a note to the Chamber of Deputies with an opinion from specialist José Casañas Levi to request his removal, although that warning did not move forward.
Bacchetta said the case cannot be reduced solely to Rivas and pointed to a chain of responsibilities. According to ABC Color, he mentioned Universidad Sudamericana and the administration of then Education Minister Eduardo Petta, over the registration of a degree that, in his view, had no real backing.
He also questioned figures from the legal field who, in his view, endorsed Rivas’ arrival at the JEM presidency. Among them, he mentioned former president of the Council of Magistrates, Oscar Paciello, and lawyer Enrique Kronawetter.
In his statements, Bacchetta also warned about the possible consequences of the conviction in the rulings signed by Rivas during his time at the Jury. According to what he explained to ABC TV and ABC Color reproduced, judges or prosecutors removed or sanctioned with his vote could seek to have those decisions annulled before the Supreme Court of Justice.
For the former senator, confirmation of the ruling could open a review of Rivas’ actions in the body and lead to a major institutional conflict.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
