Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced his resignation on Thursday, 5 November 2026, after the central bank's takeover of Ueno Bank, a lender linked to the U.S.-allied leader, blocked almost half the population from accessing their money. The seizure two days earlier froze the deposits of about three million people, including pensioners, and set off angry demonstrations across the country. Peña is still technically in power because his resignation awaits parliamentary approval, and Congress has set an impeachment trial to begin on Friday, 6 November. If he leaves, Vice President Pedro Alliana is set to take over as leader of the South American nation.
The argument that Peña must go rests on the scale of the loss and the closeness of his ties to the bank. Lawmakers voted unanimously on Thursday to launch impeachment proceedings, alleging misconduct and a conflict of interest in his dealings with the bank. He owned shares in a group that controlled Ueno before he sold them last year, and opposition lawmaker Raul Benitez said a criminal scheme had drained the bank under the protection of institutions the president controlled. His own attempts to calm the crisis fell short, since he asked central bank president Carlos Carvallo to resign, which Carvallo accepted, and he set a five-day limit for the return of funds, yet neither step eased the anger. Thousands gathered outside Congress shouting for their money back, and earlier protests ended in clashes in which police used tear gas and water cannon.
The argument against a rush to remove him is that the facts of his role are still disputed and that the process is moving faster than the evidence. Peña says it was never his intention to betray the public's trust, he apologised, and he has said he will attend his impeachment trial and use his right to defend himself. AFP reports that he sold his shares in the group last year, and the central bank said it took over Ueno because of a severe capital shortfall, in order to protect depositors. Congress also failed to reach a quorum on Thursday to decide whether to accept the resignation, so the situation is unresolved. A ruling-party senator said the aim is to conclude the trial on Friday to reassure the public, and critics of that timetable may ask whether a one-day trial can examine a case of this size.
The crisis matters because trust in banks is the foundation of a financial system, and about three million frozen accounts in a country of this size touch almost every family. For Paraguay, the outcome will also test its institutions, in a country that has used impeachment before, when Congress removed President Fernando Lugo in 2012. For the region, the loss of a conservative U.S. ally under a banking scandal is a reminder that financial failures can quickly become political ones.
Peña's resignation has not ended the crisis, because depositors still need their savings and Congress still has to decide his fate. How quickly the money is returned will matter as much to Paraguayans as who holds the presidency.
