Paraguayan lawmakers rejected President Santiago Peña’s resignation and advanced impeachment proceedings against him over the collapse of Ueno Bank, blocking an exit that would have granted him a lifetime Senate seat and legal immunity. Peña announced he was stepping down on Thursday just before the Chamber of Deputies voted 78-0 to impeach him, and he was summoned to present his defense before the Senate on Friday after an earlier joint congressional session failed to reach a quorum.
The political crisis began on Nov 3 when the Central Bank of Paraguay seized Ueno Bank, the nation’s largest digital lender, after its solvency ratio fell to roughly 6%, half the 12% regulatory minimum. Regulators documented about $146 million in related party loans to three companies tied to controlling shareholder Grupo Vázquez, equal to 35% of the bank’s capital against a 20% legal cap. Peña was a shareholder and business partner in Grupo Vázquez until March 2025, and even his ruling Colorado Party withdrew its support as protesters clashed with police in Asunción.
