Pedro Coronel, spokesperson for the Coordinating Committee of Victims of the “Mafia de los Pagarés,” called for impeachment proceedings against justices of Paraguay’s Supreme Court of Justice. He said the constitutional mechanism was being held back by alleged complicity between political power and the judiciary.
Coronel said the justices maintained a system of privileges for people close to them and criticized the lack of reaction to allegations related to the so-called “Mafia dos Pagarés,” nepotism and other alleged irregularities in the judicial system. The allegations were not presented as definitive judicial findings.
“What these justices are doing is absolutely irregular, and Parliament’s obligation is to bring them before impeachment proceedings,” the activist said. According to him, the political conditions to begin the process do not yet exist because, he argued, Parliament functioned much like the judiciary.
Impeachment proceedings are the mechanism provided for in Paraguay’s Constitution to investigate the responsibility of senior officials. Any decision to open them depends on Congress, while the Supreme Court is the country’s highest judicial authority. Coronel’s statement, however, does not identify a formal initiative currently under consideration, named targets or which justices would be targeted by a specific request.
The “Mafia dos Pagarés” is described by victims’ organizations as a scheme that allegedly brought collection documents before different courts, with claims involving fabricated debts or improper collections. The case increased pressure on the justice system and on lawyers involved in such proceedings, but the supplied material does not present judicial decisions confirming all the allegations made by the activist.
Coronel also questioned the silence surrounding the actions of lawyers who, he said, may have harmed victims, and demanded explanations about their professional registrations. He further said that the public already perceived the irregularities and could pressure for changes if the justices did not resign or face impeachment proceedings.
The statements reflect the position of the Coordinating Committee of Victims of the “Mafia dos Pagarés” and amount to a single-source account of an activist’s allegations. The published material does not record responses from the Supreme Court, Congress or the entities mentioned, nor does it identify verified institutional action.