Paraguay's president impeached after bank collapse

President impeached minutes after resigning

Paraguay's lower house voted unanimously Thursday to impeach President Santiago Peña just minutes after he announced his resignation. The seventy-eight to zero vote came as the collapse of Ueno Bank froze millions of people's savings.

His own party turned against him

Lawmakers from Peña's long-ruling Colorado Party joined the opposition in backing his impeachment after three days of demonstrations rocked the capital, Asunción.

Peña announced his resignation on X

Peña, a close ally of U.S.President Donald Trump, announced his decision in a video posted to X as lawmakers debated his impeachment.

“the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions”

He expressed contrition but avoided responsibility

Peña apologized to the people if he had failed them but stopped short of accepting responsibility for the banking crisis. He said it was never his intention to betray the trust they placed in him.

“I also want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point”

Vice president to take over Thursday

Congress was expected to formally accept Peña's resignation at five p.m., clearing the way for Vice President Pedro Alliana to be sworn in as president an hour later.

Ueno Bank grew from obscure to household name

Ueno Bank exploded from an obscure finance company to a household name in less than five years, claiming more than sixty percent of Paraguay's adults as customers.

Peña held a stake in Ueno's holding company

Peña, who until last year held a stake in Ueno's holding company, appointed Carlos Carvallo, president of Financiera Ueno, to run the central bank, the agency charged with supervising the digital lender.

Central bank found risky lending to insiders

In June, central bank inspectors found a pattern of risky lending to companies tied to Ueno's owners, beyond what the law allows and without enough collateral.

Peña dismissed warnings as a smear campaign

Peña repeatedly brushed off the warnings from regulators. As recently as last month, he defended Ueno and the central bank's oversight, dismissing the concerns as a smear campaign that was spooking the public.

The bank was seized Tuesday

On Monday, regulators found poorly documented lending and expenses Ueno had wrongly counted as assets.Once the books were corrected, Ueno's capital fell to less than half the legal minimum.The central bank seized the lender Tuesday.

Thousands protested for three days

Hundreds of retirees, depositors, university students and workers flooded the streets of Asunción demanding Peña's impeachment.Protesters called him the enemy of savers and pleaded for their money back.

“We want your head, Peña!”

Eight executives detained, twenty-seven charged

Authorities have detained eight senior Ueno executives, including founder Miguel Vázquez and bank President Juan Manuel Gustale. Prosecutors charged twenty-seven bank officials and business associates with offenses including breach of trust and attempted fraud.