State crisis in Paraguay | Paraguay: President Peña does not deserve immunity

Fire and flame for Paraguay's President Santiago Peña is a symbolic concern for the demonstrators in Asunción. Photo: AFP/Daniel Duarte Paraguay's right-wing President Santiago Peña's plan didn't work out: he resigned from office and thus automatically received immunity as a senator for life, something former presidents of the country are entitled to. But even his Colorado party didn't play along with this transparent maneuver. In the House of Representatives, all 78 MPs voted to initiate impeachment proceedings. And the House of Representatives and Senate rejected the resignation.

The Senate will now decide promptly whether there will be an impeachment trial and indictment. If at least two thirds of the 45 senators agree to the impeachment, nothing will stand in the way of Peña being prosecuted.

Peña has a bad hand: his party colleague and sponsor, former President Horacio Cartes, spoke out against him: “As chairman of the National Republican Association, we will not side with the embezzlement of public, private and pension funds; We have to think about the people and the values ​​that we stand for in the Colorado Party. The values ​​of the right-wing Colorado Party can be argued very well; Cartes, who is himself suspected of corruption, is trying to save what can still be saved for the party by distancing himself from Peña.

Even after he became president, Peña was a business partner of the group of companies, to which the digital bank Ueno belongs, until 2025. The bank that had grown rapidly from a niche provider in the financial technology industry into a medium-sized bank before it got into trouble due to a lack of capital. The central bank had to intervene. That's why the company's approximately three million customers in the country with a population of 6.5 million can currently only access their accounts to a limited extent or not at all.

The presumption of innocence also applies to Peña. But his close involvement with the bank during his term in office suggests at least a conflict of interest. A trial should determine the extent of his misconduct. Peña does not deserve immunity.

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