President Santiago Peña stated that the media should apply the same judgment criteria to all politicians, regardless of party, when asked about the corruption cases involving former senators Erico Galeano and Hernán Rivas, both from the Honor Colorado movement, during the inauguration of works on Avelino Martínez Avenue in San Lorenzo.
Peña, visibly uncomfortable with the questions, recalled that Galeano was convicted in the second instance for money laundering from drug trafficking and criminal association, and that Rivas faces accusations of using a fake lawyer's degree. The president said that the situation of his fellow party members has received more media attention than similar cases involving the opposition.
“I want and ask you, media outlets, that the yardstick be exactly the same for everyone, because there cannot be one yardstick for Colorado Party legislators and a different yardstick for legislators who are not from the Colorado Party,” Peña declared.
The president also mentioned the case of Senator Kattya González, who lost her seat in February 2024 for alleged influence peddling, in a session marked by irregularities. Peña argued that responsible institutions, such as the National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education (ANEAES), chaired by José Duarte Penayo, should carry out the necessary control over educational quality.
Peña avoided giving details about the judicial proceedings of Galeano and Rivas, limiting himself to saying that both submitted to the justice system and that the decisions made are “as never before taken.”