Paraguay's banking scandal topples President Santiago Peña

The collapse of Ueno Bank, Paraguay's most popular bank, has led to the impeachment and removal of President Santiago Peña, tarnishing the country's investor image. The failure left 2.9 million people without access to their savings. Peña, a former IMF economist, had promoted Paraguay as a modern, free-market success story, attracting record foreign investment and earning investment-grade credit ratings. However, regulators seized the insolvent Ueno Bank, which held hundreds of millions in public funds, and legislators quickly initiated impeachment proceedings, with the Senate approving his removal on Friday. The episode exposed deep corruption and clientelism issues, with analysts pointing to a political rupture between Peña and former President Horacio Cartes, who backed his 2023 election bid. Peña was placed under house arrest, while several Ueno executives were arrested, though some analysts expressed skepticism about lasting institutional reform.