April 21, 2026 – 9:15 p.m.
The Honor Colorado bench announced that it has the necessary numbers to grant unpaid leave to the legislator, prosecuted for an alleged false law degree. They allege that the measure seeks to “safeguard the image” of the Senate in the face of citizen pressure.
The officialdom in the Senate Chamber has already drawn up the roadmap for the future of Hernan Rivas. The senators of the caucus of Honor Colorado confirmed that they have enough votes to grant permission to the senator who is accused of the alleged falsification of his law degree.
The leader of the Chartist caucus, Natalicio Chasepointed out that, since it is a simple majority vote, the numbers are assured as long as there is a quorum in the room. According to Chase, this measure is not new, since there is a history of between 19 and 20 permits granted for various private or health reasons in previous periods.
Read more: HC seeks to protect Hernán Rivas with illegal permission and the opposition defines the quorum
“We are sure we have the numbers. Although we do not analyze the underlying case, because that is up to Justice, the media exposure makes this the path to take,” said the senator. He stressed that the only case in which a permit was refused It was that of Javier Vera, alias “Chaqueñito”.
“It is not a whim,” according to Maidana
For his part, the senator Derlis Maidana defended the legality of this political move and was based on the article 30 of the internal regulations of the Senate.
Maidana stressed that the bench’s decision to support the permit, which will be without pay, responds to the need forgive peace of mind to citizens” and prevent the scandal from continuing to affect the credibility of the institution.
“It is not a whim. There is jurisprudence from previous cases and the regulations allow it,” Maidana explained.
The shadow of the loss of investiture
The legislator also clarified that, until now, there is no formal request for loss of investiture against Rivas by the opposition, although he acknowledged that the senator Yolanda Paredes expressed its intention to present this initiative.
Read more: “Everything Rivas does is a cause of loss of investiture,” says Vallejo
Maidana recalled that for a loss of investiture very restrictive assumptions are required. “Surely we will see tomorrow if there is a formal presentation”, he noted.
For now, Hernan Rivas would temporarily step away from his bench while the Public Ministry advances in the investigation into how he obtained the university degree in law which even led him to preside over the Jury of Prosecution of Magistrates (JEM).
