The president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, dismissed and arrested for alleged corruption

The clock showed 6:50 p.m., Paraguayan time, when the 44 senators of Congress issued the same unanimous cry: “For the conviction!” The impeachment trial that threatened to last for days concluded on Friday – in just under 10 hours – with the majority decision of the senators, including those of the Colorado Party in Government, to dismiss President Santiago Peña, accused of being responsible for the financial fraud of Banco Ueno.

The Public Ministry ordered his arrest in the midst of investigations into the ruin of the entity that was liquidated by the Central Bank, leaving almost three million people without savings, 60% of the adult population of Paraguay. Peña remains under house arrest and at the disposal of justice. On Friday night, the vice president, Pedro Alliana, was sworn in as the new head of state.

The dismissal by the senators marks the fall from grace of the 47-year-old technocrat who came to power with a modernizing speech that projected a renewed image of the party, which has decided to leave its champion alone. Peña lost the support of his political group and the trust of its old chief, former President Horacio Cartes, who supported the impeachment.

In the square in front of Congress, thousands of citizens, furious at the loss of their savings, burst out with shouts of joy, waving flags and singing the song Patria querida, in a show of collective relief amid doubts about the future of their savings.

The disgraced politician tried to maneuver to find a not-so-humiliating way out of power. He first tried to present his resignation, which would have allowed him to be a senator for life and would have guaranteed him immunity to prevent a judicial process against him, but the legislators did not accept it. He then sought to buy time and asked Congress for a 72-hour extension to prepare his defense, but the senators denied it. They gave him a deadline of just half an hour.

Peña, who in mid-morning released a photo with an angry and defiant face, announced that he would appear at trial, but finally decided not to appear, sending his defenders, lawyers Adolfo Ferreiro and Ricardo Preda. Ferreiro is known for having also defended President Fernando Lugo when he was impeached and dismissed in 2012, in what many then considered a parliamentary coup.

Peña's trial resumed during the siesta hours, allowing the two lawyers to present their presentations. They focused their strategy on questioning the legal procedure, the viability of the accusation and the effects of the president's resignation. They alleged that the trial was carried out under a “material impossibility of defense.” They detailed that the accusatory libel (which consisted of hundreds of pages and annexes) was transferred to them late the previous night, giving them less than 12 hours to analyze the file before the hearing.

Adolfo Ferreiro argued that the impeachment trial lacked purpose and meaning because Santiago Peña had already submitted his voluntary resignation to the presidency. He argued that Congress acted arbitrarily by not immediately addressing or accepting the resignation, pointing out that there are parliamentary precedents where the process stops once the accused resigns. None of these allegations had any effect. The process continued and ended with the politician's dismissal.

After learning that his political destiny was already set, Santiago Peña said goodbye with a message on his social networks: "I submitted my resignation to avoid further damage to the country and contribute to restoring tranquility to Paraguay. I do not want my presence to be a reason for greater division or instability (...) I say goodbye with gratitude, without ignoring the anguish of those who are waiting for answers today."

The vice president, Pedro Alliana, assumed the presidency at nightfall, although his image has been affected by his closeness to the now former president. “Alliana is another character complicit in what happened, who responds to the interests of her mentor and godfather Horacio Cartes, president of the Colorado Party, just as Santiago Peña was before, but we accept this situation to give institutional continuity to the progress of the country,” summarized opposition senator Rafael Filizzola.

The new Paraguayan president sworn in early in the night, 52 years old, was born in Pilar, in the south of the country, and was governor of the department of Ñeembucú and president of the Colorado Party. In previous years, he faced complaints and questions about alleged cases of nepotism and influence peddling linked to the hiring of family members in State institutions.

His daughter, Montserrat Alliana Encina, was hired in the Chamber of Deputies in 2018 and subsequently obtained salary increases (earning more than 18 million guaraníes per month). The complaints also pointed to his wife (Fabiana Souto), his brother-in-law (Rodrigo Souto) and other relatives with positions or ties in different state entities. Currently, he is included in the criminal complaint for emptying the Ueno bank, for having known what was happening and having shared the political maneuvers of Santiago Peña.

Alliana is expected to make several changes in the ministries and the Central Bank, after the Ueno bank debacle, to try to minimize the effects of the political and economic crisis. He will govern until August 15, 2028. He will no longer have the chance to run for re-election as president or for parliamentary positions.