Paraguay President Santiago Pena resigns

Paraguay President Santiago Pena has announced his resignation after a banking crisis centred on Ueno Bank froze deposits for millions of customers and the lower house of congress voted to pursue an impeachment trial, the BBC and The Guardian reported on 5–6 November 2026.

In a video message, Pena apologised if he had failed the public and said he was stepping down to protect stability, social peace and democratic institutions. He has rejected suggestions of impropriety.

Paraguay President Santiago Pena and the Ueno Bank collapse

According to the BBC, the crisis erupted after Ueno Bank entered an insolvency process that froze all operations. Lawmakers accused Pena, who was a shareholder until last year in the company that owned the bank, of conflicts of interest and misconduct.

Ueno Bank has said it has about three million customers — roughly 60 percent of Paraguay’s adult population. The lender held pensions and some other public funds. After the collapse earlier in the week, millions could not access their accounts, the BBC reported.

The Guardian wrote that Paraguay’s central bank ordered Ueno into resolution over insolvency last Monday, freezing deposits and leaving hundreds of thousands of families without money for food and basic expenses. Bank executives were arrested and large street protests followed.

The Guardian also reported that Ueno managed between US$800 million and US$850 million in deposits from state and pension entities, intensifying criticism over conflicts of interest linked to Pena’s earlier shareholding ties to Ueno Holding. Pena said he had made an investment as an economist and had already disposed of all his shares.

Impeachment vote and what happens next

Pena’s resignation came after the lower house voted in favour of pursuing an impeachment trial. The BBC said a new Central Bank of Paraguay president has been appointed and Congress has approved a process to pay depositors.

The Guardian reported that about an hour after Pena’s announcement, the lower house unanimously approved the impeachment motion, which then goes to the senate. If approved even after resignation, he would lose his senate seat and parliamentary immunity, leaving him exposed to ordinary criminal proceedings, the paper said.

It remains unclear who will replace him or when, because the resignation must in theory be accepted by Congress. In that case vice-president Pedro Alliana would take over. Alliana has also been suspected of involvement in the Ueno Bank scandal, which he has denied, The Guardian reported.

Global political shocks often travel quickly into travel and markets coverage for Thai readers who follow world risk news alongside stories such as Europe flights diverted after bomb threats and energy headlines like Hormuz tanker fires. Regional politics pieces such as Joshua Wong jailed likewise show how overseas institutional crises stay relevant for Phuket’s international audience.

Political background

Pena won election in 2023 for Paraguay’s ruling conservative Colorado Party. The Guardian noted he had been in power since August 2023 with a term due to run until 2028, and that he is a 47-year-old economist. Opposition voices described the bank case as a major abuse of political power; Pena has insisted he committed no wrongdoing.

Former president Horacio Cartes, once an ally, endorsed impeachment in a public message supporting institutional order, according to The Guardian. Pressure from inside the Colorado party helped push the crisis toward resignation on Thursday.

For Thai and Asian readers, the story is a reminder that banking freezes and presidential exits can rearrange regional diplomacy and commodity partnerships even when the country is far from Southeast Asia. Paraguay had cultivated closer ties with Washington under Pena; US officials had previously praised him as a strategic partner, The Guardian reported, though neither Trump nor Secretary of State Marco Rubio had commented on the resignation at the time of publication.

Primary sources: BBC World — bbc.com/news/articles/c6p9g39vln3yo — and The Guardian — theguardian.com.

Image: Unsplash.