Senator Esperanza Martínez, from the Participación Ciudadana Party (PPC), stated on Monday that the Cartismo movement has already decided that Senator Patrick Kemper will chair the special Senate committee created to investigate the so-called "degree mafia," despite her being one of the main architects of the initiative. According to Martínez, the ruling party informed her that she would hold the vice-presidency of the body but made it clear that her continued participation would depend on a genuine investigation free from political interference.
"They have already told me. They want to have the majority and will take the chairmanship, and they gave me the vice-presidency," she said. The senator said she requested that the president of Congress, Senator Basilio "Bachi" Núñez, expedite the committee's formation since the investigation period is limited. "We have three months for the investigation, and almost two or three weeks have already passed without the committee being formed," she said.
Martínez said she is not interested in competing for positions within the committee but demanded guarantees to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegedly irregular degrees affecting various sectors of the state. "I want to do serious work, and I don't want anyone pressuring us for anything. We will seek the truth and try to present data that is real," she declared.
The senator issued a direct warning to the ruling party: "Whoever is behind a fake degree, we have to move forward with the investigation. And if it's not like that, then I will withdraw from the committee. I'm not going to be there just to serve as a mere formality." Martínez argued that the Cartismo movement's interest in controlling the committee chairmanship may be related to the number of people potentially implicated in the scandal.
"I believe they know there are many people involved, probably even close to political power today across all branches of government," she said. According to the legislator, the issue has reached institutions across the three branches. "It should be noted that individuals connected to the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judiciary may be implicated. Perhaps even here, in the Senate itself, the Chamber of Deputies, ministries, prosecutors, and judges," she pointed out.
For Martínez, the problem has ceased to be an isolated incident and has become a widespread practice that undermines the credibility of the public system. "This has become a truly immoral lack of control," she maintained. The senator warned that the use of allegedly fake or dubious degrees has serious consequences for society, especially when holders work in professions that directly impact people's lives, such as lawyers and doctors.
The legislator also questioned the proliferation of postgraduate degrees, master's, and doctorates obtained in timeframes she considers incompatible with rigorous academic training and linked the problem to the accreditation of new universities that, in her view, do not meet the minimum required standards. "Last week, they tried to approve a new university that, in my opinion, didn't even meet basic standards. Fortunately, it was stopped. Not even the minimum norms established by UNESCO are taken into account," she said.
Martínez directly pointed to the ruling party as the driving force behind these initiatives and reiterated that her participation in the committee will depend on the seriousness with which the work is conducted. "Are we going to do things properly? Then I'm in. Is it going to be a farce? Let them handle it on their own," she concluded. The controversy has been ongoing since May 18, when the president of Congress signed the resolution creating the special committee. The decision sparked questions because Cartista Patrick Kemper was placed first in the committee's membership, ahead of Esperanza Martínez, paving the way for the ruling party to control the leadership and, consequently, the direction of the investigations.