Paraguay’s Senate rejected President Santiago Peña’s request for 72 more hours to prepare his defense in an impeachment proceeding tied to the collapse of Banco Ueno. (Foto: Instagram)
Paraguay’s Senate rejected President Santiago Peña’s request for an additional 72 hours to prepare his defense in an impeachment case tied to the banking crisis and the collapse of Banco Ueno. The bank’s failure left some Paraguayans unable to access their money. Senate President Basilio Núñez said Peña or a representative must appear in person before Congress for the proceeding within 30 minutes.
The Chamber of Deputies approved opening the impeachment process unanimously, with 78 votes, even after Peña resigned from office. The opposition alleges that he resigned strategically to retain legal protections through a lifetime Senate seat, a status available to former Paraguayan presidents. The Senate will now consider whether to impeach him; removing him requires the support of two-thirds of senators.
The impeachment petition was submitted by 35 lawmakers over Peña’s ties to Banco Ueno. He was a shareholder in the group that controlled the bank until 2025. Lawmakers allege that Peña changed conflict-of-interest laws and allowed billions of guaraníes in guarantees from Paraguay’s Social Security Institute, known as IPS, to be concentrated at the financial institution in amounts they say exceeded legal limits.
The lawmakers also accuse Peña of failing to act in the public interest when he appointed Carlos Cavallo, formerly president of Ueno Finance, to lead Paraguay’s Central Bank. Cavallo resigned from the central bank post after the Ueno crisis and protests across the country. Paraguay’s Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a formal investigation into Peña’s links to Ueno Bank, examining suspected illicit enrichment, money laundering, corruption, administrative fraud and influence peddling. The allegations remain under investigation.
