By Daniela Desantis and Lucinda Elliott
His resignation has not been formally accepted by the Senate and he remains the president while impeachment proceedings continue. Vice President Pedro Alliana is set to succeed Peña but has yet to be sworn in. The impeachment charges allege that Peña had conflicts of interest, manipulated regulatory oversight, diverted pension funds and participated in an institutional cover-up involving the central bank.
“This impeachment proceeding has no chance of success now that Santiago Peña has submitted his resignation,” said Adolfo Ferreiro, one of the president’s lawyers. Peña has denied any wrongdoing and said the affair was a regulatory issue. ASUNCION, – Paraguay’s Senate launched impeachment proceedings against President Santiago Peña on Friday, as a political and financial crisis triggered by the collapse of a digital bank deepened. Peña submitted his resignation on Thursday following the collapse of the bank, called ueno, to which he had former business links.
A Brazilian government source told Reuters that Brazil’s immediate concern was avoiding social instability in Paraguay and ensuring the banking crisis is resolved without triggering wider unrest. “Protests over frozen savings will intensify if Peña’s exit appears to grant him impunity or if payouts to depositors and pensioners stall,” said Mariano Machado, Americas principal analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.
