Paraguay
They call on the Foreign Ministry for formal answers about Andy Rivas’s participation in official activities
Lawmakers questioned Rubén Ramírez Lezcano’s public explanation about his ties to José Andrés Rivas. They say it remains unclear in what capacity he joined delegations and whether state resources were used.
Opposition lawmakers again called on Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano to explain the participation of José Andrés “Andy” Rivas in official government activities abroad, amid requests for information promoted from Congress, according to ABC Color.
Deputy Mauricio Espínola said the foreign minister’s statement confirms only part of what had been asked, but leaves unanswered the central point: in what capacity Rivas took part in official activities, how he was added to certain delegations and who authorized and covered his expenses, if any.
Ramírez Lezcano said last Friday that Andrés Rivas is a personal friend of his, that he has no contract with either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or with him, and that they coincided at international meetings to which both were invited. He also denied that this implies any contractual or institutional link with the Foreign Ministry.
According to ABC Color, that explanation coexists with a precedent that raises questions: at a party organized by the NGO Hispanic 100 in Washington D. C. in January last year, Rivas was listed as an adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Espínola stressed that he raised those questions more than a year ago through a request for information from the Chamber of Deputies and that Congress did not receive the required documentation. He also noted that this is not about judging personal relationships, but about exercising parliamentary oversight over the participation of a private individual in official state activities.
In the same vein, Senator Rafael Filizzola, author of one of the most recent requests for information approved at the end of August, described it as a “mockery” that the foreign minister speaks to the press but does not respond to Congress.
According to ABC Color, in later and brief responses, the Foreign Ministry limited itself to saying that Andrés Rivas is not part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a contracted employee, appointee or seconded official. However, the conditions under which he took part in diplomatic activities, as well as any payments, expenses, trips, delegations and accountability reports, remained unspecified, always according to the lawmakers’ complaint.
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.
