Today, the Senate of Paraguay dismissed the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, after finding him guilty of “bad execution of functions” in a political trial without his presence, at a time of crisis triggered by the closure of Ueno Bank and criticism of the head of state’s ties to that institution.
© Luis ROBAYO / AFP via Getty Images
06/11/2026
by
Lusa
O Paraguayan Senate today dismissed the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, after finding him guilty of “bad execution of functions” in a political trial without his presence, at a time of crisis triggered by the closure of Ueno Bank and criticism of the head of state’s ties to that institution.
With the vote for the 44 senators present, Peña, 47, became the second president in the recent history of Paraguay to be removed from power through an impeachment process, after Fernando Lugo (2008-2012), from the left.
His successor will so far be Vice President Pedro Alliana.
The former president did not attend the Senate, despite having been summoned personally, and delegated his representation to lawyers, Adolfo Ferreiro and Ricardo Preda, who presented the defense “technical” and “legal” of Peña.
Paraguay went into crisis after the Central Bank (BCP) ordered a resolution procedure for Ueno Bank, an institution with 2.9 million clients in a country of 6.1 million inhabitants, which received millionaires from public entities during the mandate of the now-governant.
To this was added the concern of thousands of savers who reported not having access to their resources, among them 32,000 retired from the Social Security Institute (IPS), one of the country's main pension funds.
Even the deputies who acted as accusers in the political trial denounced the loss of about 1.2 billion dollars “of the Paraguayan people” after the bankruptcy of Ueno Bank, and asked for the condemnation of the president, who qualified as “the biggest looter in history” in the country.
Peña remained in office after Congress had not pronounced itself for lack of quorum on the resignation she presented on Thursday.
Article 189 of the Paraguayan Constitution states that former democratically elected presidents will be senators for life, “unless they have been subjected to political trial and found guilty.”.
A senator for life enjoys immunity and cannot be prosecuted without Congress approving the withdrawal of this immunity.
With the dismissal, Peña is no longer a senator for life. Just before the vote, Peña stated on her social network X account that she had resigned to avoid further damage to the country and to help restore tranquility.
“ I don't want my presence to be a cause for greater division or instability. My responsibility is to put the country above my personal destiny”, he said in a message in which he also called on Paraguayans to unite and rebuild institutionality and regain confidence.