Pedro Alliana was sworn in as Paraguay’s new president on Friday, 6 November 2026, as former President Santiago Peña was put under house arrest following an impeachment vote that had been triggered by a banking crisis linked to the collapse of the digital bank Ueno.
Western Media Agency (WAM) reported that the inauguration took place in Asunción while authorities moved to detain Peña. Prosecutors speaking outside his home said input was still being gathered, but the charges could involve influence‑peddling. Peña was ordered to appear at the prosecutor’s office the following morning, and the Senate had already removed him from office about an hour earlier in a unanimous vote citing questions over his past ties to Ueno, which had held accounts for nearly half the country’s population.
Agence France‑Presse (AFP), quoted by the same WAM article, noted that the Senate had conducted the vote a day after Peña had submitted a resignation that Congress did not accept, opting instead to proceed with impeachment. AFP added that the Central Bank of Paraguay had taken control of Ueno Bank earlier that week due to concerns about its solvency, freezing access to deposits held by roughly three million customers and sparking nationwide protests.
Reuters corroborated the sequence of events in two separate pieces published within the last 18 hours. The first Reuters story confirmed that Alliana had been sworn in as president “on Friday”, while the second highlighted that Peña had been removed from office by a unanimous Senate vote and placed under house arrest. Reuters emphasized the centrality of the banking crisis, noting that the Ueno collapse had halted deposits for millions of Paraguayans, including pensioners, and had triggered significant public unrest.
Further details emerged as prosecutors continued to gather information outside the former president’s house in Asunción. In public statements, they reiterated that the alleged influence‑peddling charges were still under review, but that the legal groundwork for Peña’s removal had been laid by the Senate’s decision. Peña was told to appear at the prosecutor’s office on Saturday morning, a move that the authorities said was a formal step in the impeachment process.
The Senate’s unanimous vote, which removed Peña after a six‑week period of scrutiny, was unusual in its speed and broad cross‑party support. It followed a motion by the Chamber of Deputies that had launched impeachment proceedings with the backing of lawmakers from the ruling Colorado Party, who cited misconduct and conflicts of interest linked to the Ueno banking crisis. The Senate’s 44‑member body was present at the vote, and the decision was described by WAM as a unanimous arraignment of the former president’s conduct.
The collapse of Ueno had a rapid ripple effect across Paraguay’s financial landscape. Because Ueno had been the primary digital wallet for many citizens, its failure disrupted cash flow for small businesses and individuals alike. The Central Bank’s intervention froze deposits quickly, and the government’s response was limited by the unprecedented magnitude of the crisis, prompting extensive protests in key urban centers.
In light of the swift removal of Peña, the new administration under Alliana faces both domestic and external scrutiny. International observers have noted that Paraguay’s political stability remains fragile, and that the legal proceedings against the former president could influence the country’s economic recovery plans. Analysts also warn that the handling of the Ueno crisis might set a precedent for future banking oversight in the region.
While Alliana’s swearing‑in marks a new chapter, the political fallout from the banking crisis continues to unfold. Paraguay’s judiciary will play an increasingly prominent role in determining Peña’s fate, and the government’s next steps will likely focus on restoring public trust in the banking sector and addressing the grievances of the millions of citizens who were left without access to their funds during the turmoil.
