Overview
- Congress refused to accept President Santiago Peña's resignation and the Chamber of Deputies sent a unanimous accusatory libel to the Senate, which formally constituted itself as the tribunal and summoned Peña to present his defense Friday.
- The crisis began when the Central Bank resolved Ueno Bank, finding its solvency well below requirements and leaving roughly 2.9–3.0 million clients temporarily unable to access deposits while the bank held an estimated $800–850 million in state and pension-linked funds.
- Authorities moved quickly with emergency steps: the government named Raúl Vera Bogado to lead the central bank, Congress fast‑tracked a law to permit advance payouts to affected depositors, and the public prosecutor opened wide criminal probes with preventive detentions and asset freezes for bank executives.
- Political support for Peña collapsed inside his own Colorado Party after Horacio Cartes and other sectors withdrew backing, fueling mass protests in Asunción and strengthening calls to remove Peña so he cannot assume a senator‑for‑life seat if he resigns.
- If the Senate convicts Peña it will require 30 of 45 votes to remove him, the vice president would be next in line to assume the presidency, and the case could accelerate criminal referrals and longer‑term reforms of bank oversight and public deposit rules.