Former Senator and former president of the Judicial Impeachment Jury (JEM), Enrique Bacchetta, stated he alerted the Chamber of Deputies in 2020 about doubts concerning Hernán Rivas' law degree. In a recent interview, Bacchetta revealed he sent a formal note to the legislature after Rivas took office at the JEM in September of that year, warning of a potential "institutional tragedy." He declared that, at the time, publications were already circulating indicating that the Universidad Sudamericana had never registered Rivas' degree in Luque and that the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC) did not validate the institution's diplomas.
Bacchetta also questioned the nomination of Rivas for the presidency of the JEM, made by Enrique Kronawetter and Oscar Paciello, who were appointed by then-President Mario Abdo Benítez. He mentioned that Orlando Arévalo, proposed as vice president, was also subject to questions about his qualifications. "Just imagine," concluded the former senator, highlighting the seriousness of the appointments to a crucial body of Paraguay's justice system.
Meanwhile, the oral trial against Hernán Rivas, accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office of using a degree with false content, has begun to reveal irregularities in the presented documents. The former senator's academic transcript contains a series of serious spelling errors. Numerical grades appear with incorrect spelling, such as "Custro" for the number 4, "Einco" or "Onco" for 3, and in one instance the grade 1 is accompanied by the word "Tres."
Furthermore, the document lists a subject called "Metroiologia Científica," among other errors that stand out in an academic document. During the initial hearings, a former rector of the Universidad Sudamericana testified that he signed Rivas' law degree inside his own car and stated he never saw the former senator attend classes or take exams at the university.
The judicial process now seeks to determine the authenticity of the documentation and the circumstances under which the degree was issued, to define whether the irregularities are mere administrative errors or part of the conduct alleged by the prosecution.