From national basketball player to head of state, Ariana unexpectedly takes over as President of Paraguay

(Central News Agency, Asunción, comprehensive foreign news report on the 7th) Paraguay Vice President Pedro Alliana unexpectedly took over the presidency just three days after a political crisis broke out in Paraguay three years after he served as vice president. After former President Santiago Pena resigned and was impeached by Congress, Ariana was quickly sworn in on the 6th.

Agence France-Presse reported that Ariana, 52, was a former member of the national basketball team, a businessman and a key figure in the ruling Colorado Party. He takes over as president at a time when Paraguay is facing serious political turmoil. Earlier this week, digital bank Ueno Bank suddenly collapsed, causing the savings of half of the country's adult population to be frozen. When Ariana was sworn in, she promised to try to solve the problem before her term expires in August 2028.

Ariana was born in the riverside city of Pilar on February 19, 1974. With the support of former president and Red Party leader Horacio Cartes, Ariana gradually became a well-known political figure in the country. Cartis remains one of Paraguay's most influential political figures and leader of the Red Party.

Before joining politics, Ariana worked in business and was selected for the Paraguay national basketball team in 1991. He also experienced a major blow in his life. His younger brother Rodolfo Alliana was kidnapped and killed in 2003. The court found that the kidnappers attempted to raise funds for cigarette smuggling. In 2018, he was diagnosed with leukemia and went to Brazil for treatment. The next year, he announced that he had defeated the disease, but he will undergo chemotherapy again in 2021.

Ariana's parents both served as local councillors. He lost his first bid for mayor of his hometown in 2006. In 2008, he was elected governor of the southern province of Neembucu. He then served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023, and served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Red Party.

His rise to political power was closely linked to Katis's faction within the Red Party. In 2021, Ariana originally planned to run for the Senate, but Katis informed him that he would partner with Pena to run for president and vice president. Pena even praised him at the time as potentially being "the best vice president in Paraguay's history."

Ariana is married to Congresswoman Fabiana Souto and has four children. She has been criticized for having many relatives working in government departments, including her eldest daughter Montserrat Alliana.

The outside world originally regarded him as one of the important successor candidates of the ruling party. One year after taking office as vice president, he publicly admitted his intention to run for the presidency. In 2025, Katis also publicly encouraged supporters to support Ariana as the next president.

However, the relationship between the two gradually turned cold. After Katis withdrew his support, Ariana publicly stated on October 26 that "loyalty does not mean blind obedience."