Paraguay President Santiago Peña Resigns Amid Ueno Bank Scandal

Santiago Peña, a 47-year-old right-wing economist, resigned from the presidency of Paraguay on Thursday, November 5. He was the youngest leader in Paraguay's democratic era and took office under the strong influence of Horacio Cartes, a veteran politician and tobacco businessman who is on a US sanctions list for being "significantly corrupt."

Peña's resignation followed a scandal involving Ueno Bank, an institution linked to former associates of the head of state. He stated that he made the decision thinking about the stability of the country, social peace, and the need to preserve democratic institutions.

“History will be in charge of judging and placing in its just dimension the events that today fall to us to live. I made the decision to submit my resignation to the Presidency of the Republic.”

Peña studied economics at the Catholic University of Paraguay and earned a master's degree from Columbia University in New York. He previously worked in the Africa department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

Between 2000 and 2009, he served as an official at the Central Bank. He joined its board in 2012 and was appointed finance minister by Cartes in 2014, which led him to join the conservative Colorado Party. The party has dominated Paraguayan political life since the 19th century.

Peña lost the chance to run for president in the 2017 primary elections to Mario Abdo Benítez but recovered the opportunity four years later. Opponents often refer to him as "Cartes's secretary," though a collaborator described him to AFP as very serene and tranquil.

He is the son of economist José María Peña and Argentine Ana María Palacios. Peña described himself as a former rugby player and a technocrat with a brilliant academic career but little political experience.