Constitutional lawyer Hugo Estigarribia Gutiérrez has again accused the Paraguayan Senate of violating the Constitution by administering the oath of office to Carlos Liseras as a national senator, according to a report by El Nacional. Liseras replaced Hernán Rivas, who resigned amid an investigation into alleged falsification of his law degree, and Erico Galeano, who is being prosecuted in the A Ultranza Py operation.
Estigarribia argued that the Senate breached Articles 196 and 137 of the Constitution by allowing a public official on leave to assume a legislative seat, which he said is expressly prohibited. He claimed Liseras does not meet eligibility requirements due to a constitutional incompatibility, and that the oath should not have been administered.
The lawyer also criticized the Senate for basing Liseras's appointment on an executive decree and lower-ranking norms, calling it a “gross violation of the legal order.” In a social media post quoted by El Nacional, Estigarribia asked: “They made Liseras swear in alleging a permit based on an inferior law to investigate him as a legislator, ignoring the constitutional text. And the rule of law?”
The oath occurred during the same session in which the Senate accepted the resignations of Rivas and Galeano. Liseras initially assumed the seat vacated by Galeano, but after Galeano’s leave was revoked, he regained active status, triggering a replacement system based on correlation rather than direct substitution. Under this system, when a titular senator returns, the last substitute who swore in for a temporary vacancy must leave.