Paraguayan Sen. Esperanza Martinez urged authorities to act quickly against President Santiago Peña as lawmakers advanced an impeachment request amid a banking crisis. (Foto: Instagram)
At a Senate meeting in Paraguay on Thursday, Nov. 5, Sen. Esperanza Martinez called for authorities to act quickly in the case against President Santiago Peña, saying they should prevent him from leaving the country as she alleged Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro had done. Separately, Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies approved an impeachment request against Peña with 78 votes. The case now goes to the Senate, where it requires support from two-thirds of members.
The impeachment effort has unfolded amid a crisis involving Ueno Bank, a digital financial institution that closed this week. Peña, an economist, was a shareholder in Ueno Holding until March 2025; the company is associated with the group that controls the bank. The Central Bank of Paraguay ordered Ueno’s closure on Nov. 3, saying it was insolvent and unable to meet its financial obligations.
Martinez called for Peña to be formally charged and for his assets to be confiscated, arguing that swift action was needed to keep him from leaving Paraguay. “There is a risk that the same thing that happened with Bolsonaro could happen—that, with international help, he could end up somewhere the Paraguayan justice system cannot find him,” she said. She also criticized prosecutors, saying they had held a request to bring charges against the president for some time without acting and needed to be decisive.
Martinez was referring to Flávio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian senator from the Liberal Party. According to the account of her remarks, he left Brazil the previous week after losing the presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He traveled by way of Argentina and Ecuador to the United States, where he has since been based. The account also says his departure violated a court order barring him from leaving Brazil, issued after the Federal Police raised suspicions that he might flee. He is under investigation in three separate Federal Police cases, including over suspected money laundering and foreign-exchange evasion.
The comparison with Bolsonaro was also raised during the Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies’ vote on Peña’s impeachment. The lower house approved a request for a political trial, sending it to the Senate for consideration. The Senate must approve the request by a two-thirds majority for the process to advance.
Paraguay’s Public Ministry has requested a criminal investigation into Ueno Bank and sought the arrest of two of its executives. The inquiries involve suspicions about the bank’s management and loans to companies linked to its controlling group, which investigators suspect may have weakened the bank’s assets. On Thursday, prosecutors also accepted a request to investigate alleged financial crimes by Peña. Peña has decided to resign, but the country’s Congress must determine whether to accept his resignation; he is expected to submit it formally. Paraguayan media have reported that lawmakers may reject the resignation and continue with impeachment proceedings. Under the account, a president who resigns is entitled to a lifetime Senate seat and retains legislative rights.
