Paraguay
Estigarribia questioned Hernán Rivas's rise to the JEM after his conviction
The governor of Central said the case exposes a system in which political backing carries more weight than preparation. He also called for an investigation into those who promoted the former senator to institutional posts.
The governor of Central, Ricardo Estigarribia, reacted to the eight-year prison sentence handed down against former Cartista senator and former head of the Jury for the Prosecution of Magistrates, Hernán Rivas, for having used a fake law degree to hold public office, according to ABC Color.
According to that outlet, the Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested a 12-year prison sentence, considering the former legislator’s conduct especially serious.
Estigarribia said on his social media that the situation outrages him because of the message it sends to young people who study and work to obtain a degree and access a job opportunity. He also questioned that Rivas had reached the head of the body in charge of judging magistrates with a fake document.
According to ABC Color, the Liberal leader said that a State in which godfatherism carries more weight than preparation and honesty can no longer be tolerated. In that context, he linked the case to the Honor Colorado movement and its leader, Horacio Cartes, whom he pointed to as the figure who politically propelled Rivas to first reach the JEM through the Chamber of Deputies, then through the Chamber of Senators, and finally the presidency of the body.
The governor added that the judicial ruling is not enough on its own and called for the political actors who promoted Rivas to be formally investigated, so that they answer criminally and politically before society, always according to ABC Color.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
