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In the wake of a national banking scandal, the President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, announced his resignation on Thursday, but remained technically at the head of the state because Parliament failed to vote to accept or refuse it. Accused of "bad performance of his duties" and "conflict of interest", he is preparing for his trial in impeachment on Friday.
Paraguay’s lower house voted unanimously to impeach President Santiago Pena on Thursday, just minutes after he announced his resignation on X. Protesters have rallied in the streets since the takeover of a bank linked to Pena blocked millions of people, including pensioners, from accessing their money.
The President of Paraguay resigned in the midst of the crisis unleashed by Ueno Bank's intervention. The Congress will begin a political trial on Thursday against Peña after having no quorum to decide whether or not to accept his resignation.
In recent years, Paraguay has gained importance as an investment destination for its stability; however, the resignation of President Santiago Peña completely changes the picture. We spoke to Gabriel Giménez Roche, political analyst and professor of economics at NEOMA Business School, about what is happening in terms of the country's reliability and international qualifications.
Following the pressure of a possible political trial and protests on the streets, Santiago Peña resigned the Paraguayan Presidency. Peña presented her resignation through a video published on her social networks, following the intervention and closure of Ueno Bank, which affects millions of customers and opened a front of political instability. The decision takes place after the blocks of the Chamber of Deputies announced their support for the political trial and confirmed the votes necessary to move forward with the dismissal. From Asunción, our correspondent, Flavia Borja, extended the details.
Paraguay's President, Santiago Peña, resigned in the midst of the crisis unleashed by the intervention and closure of Ueno Bank, which affects millions of customers and opened a front of political instability. However, Congress continues to debate in order to advance the political trial and reject its resignation. What's waiting for Paraguay? Esteban Caballero, a political scientist and researcher associated with FLACSO, explains this.
The move follows a bank collapse and after the lower house of congress voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial against him.
President Pena, a Trump ally, had faced an impeachment motion and protests after the collapse of digital lender ueno.
The Chamber of Deputies rejects his resignation in order to prevent him from having a party and moves forward with the political trial.
Paraguay's President Santiago Pena has resigned amid a crisis over his ties to collapsed lender Ueno. Millions of customers' accounts are frozen, with public pension and health care funds also tied up.
The decision comes after legislators from the opposition and its own party pushed a political trial to remove it.
Through a video published on his social media, Paraguay's President, Santiago Peña, resigned on November 5 following the opening of a debate in the Chamber of Deputies on a possible political trial for the intervention and closure of Ueno Bank, an entity linked to the president. The Central Bank's measure triggered a financial and political crisis that affected 2.9 million customers with branch closures and access to accounts.
The intervention of Ueno Bank, one of Paraguay's largest financial institutions, has shaken the country's banking system and its political leadership. The President of the country is facing a political trial that could be approved on Thursday.
Opposition deputies filed a request for a trial of dismissal against the President of Paraguay and his vice-president for the crisis involving one of the country's largest banks, which led to the freezing of deposits of about three million people. The order is discussed intensively on Thursday, November 5.
Protests have erupted across Paraguay after Ueno Bank was shut down in the middle of the night over a solvency crisis.
