The widow of Felipe Nery Páez Mauro, Genara Ramona Ojeda, has filed a non-contractual civil liability lawsuit against former Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) Minister Miguel Óscar Bajac Albertini and the Paraguayan state, seeking compensation of G. 25,392,623,480 (approximately R$ 25.4 billion) for damages suffered after the bribery complaint that led to Bajac's conviction.
Páez, who was the assignee of rights for the company Cal Agro S.A. in a lawsuit against the state-owned Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC), reported that Bajac demanded a 5% bribe of the case value (about G. 8.5 billion), with an advance payment of US$ 50,000. The case was proven in oral trial, resulting in Bajac's three-year prison sentence.
According to the petition, after the complaint, the CSJ Civil Chamber, with Bajac's own vote, reversed a decision favorable to Cal Agro, causing financial and emotional losses to the family. The widow describes that Bajac's secretary, Rafael Ramírez, invaded her home demanding payment of the bribe, and that the pressure led to the deterioration of Páez's health, who died during the criminal proceedings.
“They pursued us with doctors and court officials until Felipe's last breath in the ICU, robbing us not only of the money we never had, but of peace and the right to a dignified death,” the widow states in the document. She reports that the family, including two pregnant daughters, lived under constant threat and that during the pandemic, she had to sew masks to survive.
The lawsuit also highlights that on July 5, 2018, Bajac's secretary was arrested while receiving part of the bribe. Just 48 hours later, the CSJ Civil Chamber, with Bajac's vote, fully rejected Cal Agro's claim. For the widow, “the jurisdiction was used as a club to punish the citizen who dared to report the minister's corruption.”
Genara Ramona Ojeda emphasizes that the compensation is not just a financial matter, but a request for recognition that the state and the guilty parties destroyed a Paraguayan family. The lawsuit seeks full reparation for the material and moral damages suffered.