President Peña removed from office, placed under house arrest; protests grow as major banks fail - Paraguay

[São Paulo Current Affairs] On the 6th, the Senate of Paraguay in South America held an impeachment trial against President Peña (47), who was accused of conflicts of interest and neglect of duty, including having inappropriate ties with Banco Ueno, a major digital bank that went bankrupt, and found him guilty by a majority vote. Mr. Peña was removed from office and replaced by Vice President Ariana. According to local media, Mr. Peña was placed under house arrest by judicial authorities.

Bank Ueno, which went bankrupt, is said to have had around 3 million customers, about 60% of Paraguay's adult population. It has expanded rapidly over the past few years and now holds many public sector assets such as pension funds.

On the 3rd, the central bank began bankruptcy proceedings for Ueno Bank, claiming that it did not meet the legal minimum capital adequacy ratio. Many people were unable to access their accounts, leading to widespread protests demanding the return of deposits and holding the government accountable.