OMM Newsroom
Paraguay’s Senate removed President Santiago Peña from office on Friday, November 6. The two-day impeachment process concerned the collapse of Ueno bank and Peña’s ties to the institution, AnewZ reported.
Forty-four senators voted to find Peña guilty. The former president, who announced his resignation on Thursday after losing the support of his party, was placed under house arrest. Because lawmakers did not accept his resignation, he remained head of state while impeachment proceedings continued.
Vice President Pedro Alliana, a 52-year-old conservative politician, is expected to be sworn in as president to complete the remainder of the term, which runs until 2028. He has not yet taken office and is awaiting completion of the transition process.
The lawmakers’ decision indicated that they wanted a full investigation into the allegations surrounding the bank scandal rather than allowing the president to leave office without further scrutiny. The crisis has shaken Paraguay’s political elite and raised concerns about the resilience of the country’s financial system.
The crisis began after Paraguay’s central bank intervened in Ueno, one of the country’s rapidly growing digital financial institutions. The bank expanded quickly, attracting millions of customers, many of whom had not previously held bank accounts. It became a major participant in efforts to broaden access to financial services.
Concerns later emerged about the bank’s lending policies, management and links to influential politicians and businesspeople. Peña previously held a stake in the company’s parent firm. The central bank’s head, meanwhile, had led Ueno before taking public office.
After the bank collapsed, the central bank’s head resigned, while arrest warrants were issued for several senior executives as investigators sought to establish what had happened.
Allegations against the president
Opposition lawmakers have accused Peña of a conflict of interest and of failing to ensure proper oversight of the institution. The impeachment filing also included allegations of irregularities involving pension funds and an alleged attempt to shield officials linked to the bank from accountability.
Peña has denied all the allegations. He said the bank’s collapse was a regulatory matter and denied committing any wrongdoing.
The president’s legal team argues that impeachment proceedings are essentially unnecessary because he has already announced his intention to leave office. Lawmakers, however, insist on continuing the process. An impeachment ruling could remove presidential immunity and open the way for further legal action against Peña. Prosecutors have already launched criminal investigations related to the bank scandal.
Protests demand access to deposits
The political crisis has spread to the streets of the capital, Asunción. Hundreds of residents have protested in the city center, demanding accountability and faster access to funds in frozen accounts.
On Friday, protesters gathered near the central bank’s headquarters to demand the return of their deposits. Some people, including pensioners who received government payments through Ueno, suddenly lost access to their funds.
The government has taken steps to speed up the compensation process. Some depositors reportedly began receiving their money back this week. However, customers facing uncertainty remain dissatisfied.
Central bank financial regulators are trying to reassure investors that the crisis can be contained. Officials have pledged that most deposits will be protected and that the turmoil will not spread to other parts of Paraguay’s banking sector.
Neighboring Brazil, Paraguay’s largest trading partner, is also monitoring the situation closely. Regional officials fear that a prolonged political confrontation, combined with public anger over frozen deposits, could lead to wider instability.
Senior Ueno executives have been transferred to prison while awaiting trial. The move underscores the expanding legal fallout from a scandal that has become one of Paraguay’s most serious political crises in recent years.
