Paraguay's lower house voted to impeach Peña after Ueno Bank's collapse froze millions of accounts. His resignation was not accepted.

Published 6 Nov 2026, 08:26 GMT

3 min read

Reunião com Senhor Santiago Peña, Presidente Eleito do Paraguai

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Paraguay's Congress has refused President Santiago Peña's resignation, and the lower house has voted to impeach him over the collapse of Ueno Bank.

Peña is still in office. The lower house voted on Thursday, 5 November, to send him for trial, and the Senate opened proceedings and summoned him to appear on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.

A joint session called to accept the resignation lost its quorum after lawmakers from his Colorado Party walked out. dpa reported that the vote failed, so he remains president while the impeachment goes ahead.

Had Congress accepted the resignation, he could have left without an impeachment conviction. Under Paraguay's constitution, a democratically elected former president becomes a senator for life unless convicted in impeachment, and a senator has a degree of legal immunity.

The bank that froze millions of accounts

The crisis began when the central bank found that Ueno, a digital lender, had fallen below the legal solvency ratio. Once the books were corrected, its capital was less than half the minimum the law requires.

Ueno put its customer base at roughly three million people, equivalent to about 60 per cent of adults in Paraguay.

The bank also held pensions and other public funds. Millions of account holders lost access to their money when it collapsed earlier this week.

The central bank has voted to move what remains to other institutions.

Peña held a stake in the parent company, Grupo Vazquez, until March 2025, and has said he sold those shares. Lawmakers accuse him of a conflict of interest and misconduct, allegations he has rejected.

The central bank's head, Carlos Carvallo, has resigned. His successor is in place, and lawmakers have authorised arrangements for reimbursing depositors, the BBC reported.

The attorney general has ordered three criminal investigations, covering oversight of the lender and the placing of public funds there. Peña has said he will cooperate.

What Peña told the country

In a video on Thursday he said he was resigning with "the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions in mind."

He also said: "I want to apologise to the people if at any point I failed. It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me."

He asked that savers not be left waiting on his own fate.

"My greatest wish is that the return of those funds be guaranteed, that the deposit guarantee fund fulfil its purpose, and that public funds – as well as the resources that belong to all Paraguayans – be protected," he said.

After the Senate summoned him, he wrote on X that he would appear and exercise his right to a defence, "with arguments and evidence", even if lawmakers had already made up their minds.

"I will provide the information requested of me. Citizens deserve to know the truth, without cover-ups and without anyone being above the law," he wrote.

Horacio Cartes, a former president and a Colorado Party leader, wrote that the party would "not side with the theft of public, private and pension funds." Those words are his allegation, not a court finding.

Who is next, if the Senate convicts

Vice President Pedro Alliana is next in line if Peña is removed. The Colorado Party dropped impeachment proceedings against Alliana.

Peña defeated a centre-left rival in the 2023 presidential election as the candidate of the conservative Colorado Party. Some protesters clashed with police near Congress on Thursday as they demanded Peña leave office.

The Senate was due to hear his defence on Friday, 6 November.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Congress rejects Santiago Peña&#39;s resignation after Ueno collapse

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Congress rejects Santiago Peña's resignation after Ueno collapse

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