Protests in Paraguay demanding Peña answer to Justice for the fall of Ueno Bank

 Dozens of protesters demanded this Thursday that the Paraguayan Congress complete the approval of the impeachment trial against outgoing president Santiago Peña so that, upon being removed from office, he loses his immunity and can answer to the Justice system for the collapse of Ueno bank, a private entity to which he was linked.

Citizens gathered outside the Congress headquarters in the capital, Asunción, to listen to the progress of the extraordinary session of the Chamber of Deputies, which today unanimously approved the impeachment of Peña, who had resigned from the Presidency hours earlier, and forwarded the file to the Senate to decide on the process.

The Central Bank of Paraguay (BCP) ordered on Tuesday a resolution or closure process for Ueno bank, an entity that received millions in resources from public institutions during Peña’s administration, after detecting that the bank’s solvency ratio, with 2.9 million clients in a country of 6.1 million inhabitants, had fallen below 50% of the required minimum.

“We do not want his resignation to be accepted, because if it is accepted, he would be shielded as a senator for life,” activist María Stela Invernizzi told EFE.

Article 189 of the Constitution of Paraguay establishes that democratically elected former presidents shall be lifetime senators, “unless they have been subjected to impeachment and found guilty.”

A senator for life enjoys parliamentary immunity and cannot be subjected to criminal proceedings without the endorsement of the Senate.

“We want him to pay before the Justice system for this very serious act committed by him and his entourage,” expressed the protester, who asked the Senate to complete the impeachment process and carry out the removal.

On the other hand, Cristian Domínguez, a citizen who said he was “outraged” by the dissolution of Ueno, stated that Peña “is responsible” for this crisis.

“He has to go to jail,” declared Domínguez, who also demanded the recovery of the public resources that were invested in Ueno and the deposits of the savers that remained frozen

Peña became embroiled in the crisis that erupted following the intervention of Ueno Bank, a private entity that, during his term, received millions in resources from organizations such as the Social Security Institute (IPS), which manages the pensions of the majority of the country’s workers, and from other official institutions.