Following U.S. Republican Rout, South American Right Also Shaken... Paraguay's President Announces Resignation

Following the ruling Republican Party's crushing defeat in the U.S. midterm elections, right-wing politicians close to President Donald Trump in South America are also facing successive political crises.

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña has announced his resignation amid corruption allegations related to a major bank insolvency crisis.

[Santiago Peña / President of Paraguay : I have decided to resign from the presidency. This decision was made considering national stability and social peace.]

However, the Paraguayan congress has effectively rejected President Peña's resignation intent and initiated impeachment proceedings.

[Rocio Vallejo / Paraguayan Representative and Impeachment Prosecutor : Ladies and gentlemen, I ask that this congress proceed with the impeachment trial against President Santiago Peña.]

What drove President Peña into a political crisis is the insolvency crisis of Ueno Bank, a major digital bank in Paraguay.

With 3 million people, accounting for 60% of the adult population in Paraguay, as customers, financial chaos spread—such as the suspension of deposit withdrawals and transfers—after the Central Bank of Paraguay initiated liquidation procedures for Ueno Bank citing deteriorating solvency.

Public funds managed by this bank amount to about $850 million.

As national pension funds were also included, public anxiety grew, and the anger of citizens whose deposits were tied up spilled over into street protests.

Some protesters threw stones at the bank, and in the process of police blocking them, 7 people were detained and 1 police officer was injured.

[Protest Participant : What must definitely happen is exactly what all of us are thinking. He (President Peña) must go to prison, his resignation must not be accepted, and an impeachment trial must proceed immediately. That is the only solution.]

President Peña is facing conflict-of-interest allegations due to factors such as previously holding stakes in the parent company of this bank and appointing figures related to the bank as the central bank governor, and prosecutors have also launched an investigation into these allegations.

President Peña is a right-wing leader close to U.S. President Donald Trump, and last March, he attended the "Shield of the Americas" summit led by President Trump.

Previously, in the Brazilian presidential election, pro-Trump candidate Flavio Bolsonaro left for the United States after losing to left-wing President Lula da Silva.

Although the crises experienced by the South American right-wing political circles stem from different domestic factors, forecasts suggest that a countercurrent has begun against the right-wing ruling wave in Central and South America, the so-called "blue tide."

Reported by Kim Hye-young | Video by Kim Jong-tae | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.