Documents presented by lawyer Óscar Tuma support the claim that Basilio Núñez, president of Paraguay’s Congress, is a medical surgeon who graduated from the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste in Argentina in 1996. The documentation, however, still does not prove the senator’s alleged specialization in neurosurgery.
Among the records released are the diploma issued in October 1996, the legalization of the degree in Paraguay and his registration at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (UNA) on February 26, 1997, under Resolution No. 391. A 2004 resolution from the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare was also presented showing that Núñez was hired as an on-call medical surgeon at what was then the Centro de Emergencias Médicas Luis María Argaña, with a workload of 120 hours per month. Another document records his resignation in 2006 from the XV Health Region of Presidente Hayes.
These documents support his medical degree and professional work in the public health system. However, no specialist certificate, residency record or specific neurosurgery diploma was shown.
The controversy was reignited by Aníbal Filártiga, former director of Hospital de Trauma and former dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at UNA. In an interview with the Zona Franca program, he said he had consulted the then dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste and said he had received the response that there was no record of a degree in Núñez’s name. Filártiga also said that the senator had not demonstrably worked as a neurosurgeon. The allegation about the supposed absence of a record was not accompanied, in the materials released, by a document from the Argentine university.
Núñez brought the matter before the Senate’s Executive Board and said he had asked the Human Resources department of the Centro de Emergencias Médicas for the contract that, according to him, would prove that he worked as an on-call neurosurgeon between 2004 and 2006. He also said he had contacted the Paraguayan Society of Neurosurgery to obtain documents about his accreditation. “If he has other information, he should file the corresponding complaint,” he said, referring to Filártiga. The senator also reported that his 15-year-old son asked him whether he was a doctor after the accusations gained attention.
The dispute is unfolding as the National Medical Workers’ Union (Sinamed), an organization representing public-sector professionals, maintains its call for a national strike on September 21 and 22. The group is demanding a salary increase, double pay on holidays, the hiring of more professionals and supplies of medicines and medical materials.
Núñez advocated dialogue and warned that the departure of specialists could affect areas such as neonatal intensive care and pediatric surgery. The president of Congress also again proposed cuts in public spending, including Parliament’s travel expenses, to redirect resources to health care. The stoppage and the resignations announced by specialists are increasing pressure on the government, but they do not resolve the documentary question surrounding the senator’s specialization.