Retirees Demand Recovery of Funds in Paraguay Amid Political Turmoil: Peña Faces Impeachment

Original article: Jubilados exigen recuperar sus fondos en Paraguay: Peña intenta dejar el poder, pero el juicio político sigue adelante

The political crisis in Paraguay has escalated following the intervention of Ueno Bank, as retirees urgently seek to reclaim their funds while President Santiago Peña, who attempted to step down, must confront an impeachment trial that will determine whether he loses his protections or faces prosecution as he is already under investigation.

The scandal erupted after the Central Bank of Paraguay ordered the intervention and dissolution of the financial institution due to its solvency index falling below the 50% minimum requirement.

Approximately 2.9 million customers of the bank, nearly half of the population in this South American nation, found their savings frozen, with their apps and cards ceasing to function.

Additionally, Ueno Bank manages 9% of the funds from the Social Security Institute (IPS), responsible for the pensions of 32,000 retirees in Paraguay, along with a portion of the funds from the National Electricity Administration (Ande) and the Itaipú Binational Hydroelectric Plant, one of the world’s largest energy producers.

The intervention of Ueno Bank has had significant political repercussions for Peña’s administration, as he had been a business partner of the bank until March 2025 when he chose to sell his shares for over 6 billion guaraníes. Later, in October of this year, a report by ABC revealed that a company in which the president was a shareholder until March of this year continued to bill millions in guaraníes to Ueno Bank for marketing services.

In light of the financial crisis, a bloc of 35 opposition deputies submitted a request in Parliament for impeachment against both Peña and his vice president, Pedro Alliana, for «misconduct, crimes committed in office, or common crimes.»

The document presented by the legislators is structured around five central issues:

Firstly, it raises a conflict of interest and questions the president’s business ties with executives of the financial entity and the removal of legal barriers between public functions and the private sector.

It also alleges regulatory manipulation and misappropriation of IPS retirement funds, which facilitated a massive deployment of pension resources into Ueno Bank.

Another point concerns the exceeding of credit limits at Ueno Bank and institutional cover-up by the Central Bank of Paraguay.

The document further claims a suspected illicit increase in assets for Peña arising from questionable commercial and financial operations, as well as the damage inflicted on banking credibility and the financial destabilization caused by Ueno Bank.

In parallel, Attorney General Emiliano Rolón has opened a criminal investigation against the president, assigning it to three prosecutors from the anti-corruption unit.

Amid the crisis, Santiago Peña announced his resignation from the presidency, apologizing to the Paraguayan people and stating that this is «one of the most challenging moments» he has faced.

«If at any point I have failed, it was never my intention to defraud the trust you placed in me (…) I am convinced that no position can be above the well-being of Paraguay,» he stated in a video shared on his social media.

However, in Paraguay, a presidential resignation alone does not take effect. Article 202 of the Constitution assigns the Congress the power to «accept or reject the resignation of the President of the Republic«, and a simple majority of the two chambers is required to approve it.

During an extraordinary bicameral session, the ruling legislators abandoned the chamber upon realizing they lacked the votes to accept the resignation, leading to a lack of quorum, which prevented the completion of the vote and the session from being adjourned.

Following this, Peña issued a statement announcing that he will present his defense before Parliament.

Impeachment Against Peña Remains On Track

Meanwhile, the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre, confirmed that the process against the president is proceeding formally with the involvement of the accusing prosecutors from the Lower House.

«What will happen next is that there will be a continuation of the impeachment process against the President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, which began in the Chamber of Deputies. The next stage is his trial in the Senate, which will involve selected deputies acting as accusing prosecutors,» he stated, according to reports from the Paraguayan portal ABC.

After the charges were formulated by the accusing prosecutors, it was established that Peña must appear to exercise his right to defense this Friday, November 6.

Retirees Demand Recovery of Their Funds

As the political and judicial future of Santiago Peña unfolds, the Alliance of Unions and Associations of Retirees and Pensioners of the Social Security Institute (IPS) demanded that the Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) adopt corrective measures in the wake of the Ueno Bank crisis and prioritize the recovery of retirement funds compromised within the intervened entity.

The group also called for political accountability from Peña’s government and for the relevant constitutional and legal sanctions to be applied.

«Among their key demands, the Alliance calls for the replacement and/or punishment of the current president and the members of the IPS Board of Directors, as well as previous authorities, for what it considers negligence in protecting retirement fund resources,» noted the portal Última Hora.

For the Alliance, it is crucial that the BCP ensures the return of the IPS resources frozen within the banking entity, both in dollars and guaraníes.

Simultaneously, they emphasized that the IPS must defend the interests of retirees and guarantee the timely payment of future pension benefits and the Additional Annual Benefit (Christmas bonus) due for this year.

The association warned that if they do not receive responses, they will undertake street actions, mobilizations, and other forms of protest.