The National Agency for the Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education (Aneaes) said during Hernán Rivas’s trial that the law degree from Universidad Sudamericana was not registered with the National Council of Higher Education (Cones) or accredited, while witnesses described aspects of the former senator’s education and prosecutors questioned the dates on academic documents.
Hernán Rivas
Pytagua coverage mentioning Hernán Rivas.
Raúl Latorre said Hernán Rivas presented himself as a lawyer to represent the Chamber of Deputies on the JEM. Hugo Estigarribia said a final conviction could prompt an examination of decisions if Rivas’s vote was decisive.
Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies completed only eight of the year’s 41 sessions because of a lack of quorum, leaving bills unvoted, and is preparing changes to its rules to enforce pay deductions and penalize absent lawmakers.
Paraguay’s Ministry of Education and Sciences restricted the registration of diplomas without accreditation and launched RUE-ES as the trial of Hernán Rivas revealed that his law degree was registered in six minutes after an alleged “higher-up order,” despite irregularities—an allegation denied by former minister Eduardo Petta.
The Supreme Court of Paraguay pays a salary exceeding 22 million guaranis per month to the wife of one of its ministers, who holds the position of director-general, without having a record of her education in the official files, which has drawn strong criticism from legal experts who call the appointment irregular and ethically questionable.
The trial of former senator Hernán Rivas for using a fake law degree exposes widespread flaws in Paraguay's academic document control system, with university authorities admitting irregularities and the Ministry of Education confirming its registration system is insufficient.
Former Senator Enrique Bacchetta alerted the Chamber of Deputies in 2020 about doubts regarding Hernán Rivas' law degree, whose trial for using a false document reveals certificates with serious spelling errors and testimony from a former university rector who claims to have signed it inside a car without ever seeing Rivas attend classes.
President Santiago Peña revoked the controversial "special permission" that had kept Carlos Liseras away from Conajzar, allowing him to resume his post after leaving the Senate, where he had taken a seat due to a vacancy created by the unconstitutional leave of scandal-embroiled Hernán Rivas and the resignation of substitute Julio Borba.
A judge has ordered Paraguay’s Jury for the Impeachment of Magistrates (JEM) to release, within 15 business days, all resolutions and opinions signed by former senator Hernán Rivas. Rivas is on trial over an allegedly falsified law degree.
The trial of former senator Hernán Rivas, accused of using a fake law degree to register as a lawyer and preside over the Magistrates Impeachment Jury (JEM), was postponed for 20 days at the request of his new defense team.
The former mayor of Tomás Romero Pereira reported a G. 1.1 billion asset loss to the Comptroller General's Office, while the Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating a G. 9 billion loss to the municipality and the Chamber of Deputies has kept requests to intervene in the city hall stalled for three years.
Former senator Hernán Rivas will stand trial next Tuesday for falsifying a university degree, after being represented by a public defender appointed at the last minute when all his previous lawyers resigned.
The Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) has identified 13 public servants involved in irregularities within the diploma system, with 130,000 suspicious actions and 283 employees under investigation, while the Senate expands its inquiry to include 20 educational institutions, including the Universidad Sudamericana.
Congress President Bachi Núñez defends the appointment of fellow party members to the Comptroller General's Office, arguing it will break a cycle of convicted former comptrollers from the opposition. However, critics point to contradictions in his discourse on integrity, citing his recent support for figures under investigation and the ruling party's strategy of occupying key positions.
The scandal involving fake university degrees in Paraguay, with over 250 confirmed frauds and suspicions surrounding 1,500 more, has exposed a structural crisis in higher education that has led to government intervention in universities and triggered investigations by Congress and the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The Comptroller General's Office has given the father-in-law of former senator Hernán Rivas 20 days to explain the source of funds for a mansion in Lambaré, while Rivas is also facing charges for failing to declare assets and for using an allegedly fake document.
The president of the Magistrates' Impeachment Jury, Alicia Pucheta de Correa, proposed, in her personal view, a reform that would require all members of the body to be legal professionals and retired university law professors, in order to remove the influence of traditional political parties and reduce the perception of political persecution.
Judge Dina Marchuk Santacruz, known as the "No Tears" judge, remained in office until age 75 after the Supreme Court of Justice unanimously approved in November 2025 the irremovability of her and 31 other magistrates who met the constitutional and legal requirements.
The Senate of Paraguay has set up a special commission to investigate an alleged scheme involving approximately 100,000 irregular university degrees issued between 2023 and 2025, of which roughly 60% correspond to programs lacking quality accreditation. The first institution under investigation is Universidad Sudamericana, the alma mater of former senator Hernán Rivas.
The Colorado caucus in the Chamber of Deputies postponed until mid-July the vote on the bill requiring a law degree and ten years of legal practice to serve on the Magistrates' Trial Jury, paving the way for the selection of new members of the body at the beginning of that same month.
The Senate of Paraguay established a Special Investigation Commission on Monday, June 15, to investigate the issuance, sale, and use of allegedly fake or irregular university degrees, diplomas, and higher education certificates. This follows the scandal involving Universidad Sudamericana, which is believed to have issued around 2,500 irregular degrees over three to four years, a case that led to the resignation of former senator Hernán Rivas.
Senator Esperanza Martínez threatens to leave the Senate special commission investigating the "degree mafia" if there is no genuine investigation free from political interference, after the Cartismo movement appointed Patrick Kemper to chair the body.
Opposition lawmakers dismissed the Comptroller General's Office report, which found no irregularities in President Santiago Peña's asset growth but failed to examine the period during which his wealth increased by approximately 20 billion guaraníes, as a whitewash.