Asunción, Paraguay — The news of the Paraguay President Impeached proceedings followed President Santiago Peña’s announcement of his resignation on Thursday, November 5, 2026. The Chamber of Deputies reportedly voted 78-0 to approve impeachment charges and referred the case to the Senate. Congress had not yet accepted Peña’s resignation, leaving his official status unresolved. The political crisis reportedly followed the collapse of digital lender Ueno Bank, which allegedly froze the savings of approximately 3 million customers and affected hundreds of millions of dollars in public pension funds.
The crisis unfolded rapidly. The Central Bank of Paraguay took control of Ueno Bank after discovering that its solvency ratio had fallen below half the legally required minimum, following adjustments made during a regularization process. Authorities issued arrest warrants for eight Ueno executives, all of whom subsequently surrendered, and courts ordered their assets frozen. Central Bank President Carlos Carvallowho had led Ueno’s predecessor, Financiera Ueno, until 2023 resigned at Peña’s request.
What transformed a banking failure into a political earthquake was the scale of public exposure. Ueno Bank held approximately $850 million in public deposits, including roughly $380 million from the state pension and health fund and funds belonging to the operators of Paraguay’s hydroelectric dams. The bank claimed more than 60% of Paraguay’s adult population as customers, having grown from an obscure finance company into a ubiquitous brand in under five years, sponsoring the national soccer team and placing its name on the country’s main stadium.
Peña’s personal connections proved politically fatal. Until March 2025, he held shares in Grupo Vázquez, which owned the bank. Even as concerns mounted inside the central bank inspectors had flagged excessive insider lending as early as June Peña publicly defended Ueno as recently as last month. His appointment of Carvallo to lead the very agency responsible for supervising the bank struck many as a conflict of interest bordering on institutional capture.
The political abandonment was swift and total. Peña’s own Colorado Party turned against him. Party leader and former President Horacio Cartes announced he would support impeachment, declaring the party would not side with “the plundering of public and private funds and pensioners’ money.” With his political base evaporating, Peña posted a video on X announcing his resignation in the interest of “the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions,” offering an apology that stopped short of accepting responsibility.
Minutes later, the Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to impeach him, and also rejected a parallel impeachment motion against Vice President Pedro Alliana by a vote of 30-48. However, opposition senators insisted on proceeding with a Senate trial rather than simply accepting the resignation, arguing that allowing Peña to resign solely would preserve his eligibility to become a senator for life a status that carries legal protections potentially shielding him from prosecution. Under Paraguay’s Constitution, former presidents become life senators unless removed through impeachment. Vice President Alliana will only be able to assume office if the Senate accepts the resignation or convicts Peña in the impeachment trial.
The legal peril is already materializing. Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández ordered three criminal investigations into the Ueno crisis, encompassing allegations against Peña and other current and former officials, examining regulatory oversight failures, the handling of the bank’s collapse, and the placement of public funds in the institution.
The economic fallout has been immediate. The guaraní fell nearly 4% against the dollar on Thursday, extending its weekly losses to nearly 7%, while Paraguay’s international sovereign bonds dropped sharply. For a country that had recently earned investment-grade credit ratings and positioned itself as a reliable financial hub, the reputational damage is severe. Protests continued in Asunción, with demonstrators demanding accountability and the return of frozen savings.
Vice President Pedro Alliana, a 52-year-old Colorado Party veteran who served as Chamber of Deputies president from 2019 to 2022, is expected to complete Peña’s term through August 2028 if the constitutional process concludes in his favor. Whether Peña’s resignation is ultimately accepted or he is removed through a Senate trial will determine not only his legal fate but the institutional precedent for a nation grappling with the consequences of merging political power with financial oversight.
