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Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, resigned on Thursday amid mounting calls for his removal following the collapse of digital bank Ueno, which left millions of customers unable to access their accounts.
In a pre-recorded video message released on Thursday, Peña said he was stepping down to protect the country’s stability, social peace and democratic institutions.
“My decision is guided by the need to safeguard the stability of our country, social peace and our democratic institutions,” he said.
Peña’s resignation came as opposition lawmakers moved to convene a special session of Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. Protesters also intensified demands for his departure.
He had earlier lost the support of members of his own conservative party. Vice-President Pedro Alliana is expected to succeed him.
Lawmakers accused Peña of conflicts of interest, misuse of pension funds and concealing institutional information related to Ueno’s collapse. The bank had rapidly expanded from a small fintech company into a mid-sized lender managing around $850 million in public funds.
Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor Lucia Newman said Peña faced allegations of at least gross negligence and complicity in concealing information about the bank’s insolvency.
She added that Congress was seeking to impeach both the president and vice-president, while thousands of protesters outside were urging lawmakers not to accept Peña’s resignation but instead hold him accountable through impeachment.
Paraguay’s central bank intervened in Ueno after finding evidence that it had violated minimum solvency requirements. The crisis left nearly three million of the bank’s customers unable to access their accounts in a country of 6.5 million people.
In his address, Peña said his greatest wish was to ensure the return of the funds, allow the deposit guarantee fund to fulfil its purpose and protect the assets of all Paraguayans, along with public funds.
Ueno has not made any public comment on the matter.
