Paraguay has a new president after parliament removed Santiago Peña over the banking crisis tied to Ueno Bank. Former vice-president Pedro Alliana took office and is due to serve until 2028, Seznam Zprávy reported, citing AFP.

Forty-four of 45 senators voted for removal. Peña was quickly placed under house arrest. The crisis left nearly half the population without access to deposits after the bank was taken over amid insolvency fears; Alliana pledged full compensation for almost three million affected customers, including pensioners.

Ueno grew from a digital fintech aimed at low-income clients into a major bank handling state pensions and accounts for public institutions. Peña held a stake until last year in Grupo Vázquez, which controlled the bank; the opposition alleged a conflict of interest, which he denied.

Prosecutors are investigating him for influencing supervision and placing public money at the bank; a Saturday hearing was set on suspicion of breach of trust and embezzlement. The central-bank governor and interior minister resigned; eight Ueno managers were arrested and police raided sites linked to Grupo Vázquez.

The central bank began advance payouts to customers on Thursday. Fallout reached Argentina, where ITTI (same group) suspended about a thousand staff without pay for 30 days. Ueno also sponsored football clubs and Paraguay’s national team.

Opposition deputies sought to impeach Alliana too, but parliament rejected the motion. Thousands had protested demanding Peña be held to account.

Source: Paraguay has a new president; parliament removed Peña over banking crisis (Seznam Zprávy)