On Friday, November 6, 2026, the Senate of Paraguay voted to remove President Santiago Pena from office, with all 44 senators present voting in favor and the 45th member absent. The vote followed a fast-tracked one-day trial, and it ended the presidency of a 44-year-old leader who had taken office in August 2023 as one of the youngest presidents in the history of the country. The ground given for the removal was poor performance in his duties, described in the proceedings as misconduct in office.
Within the hour, Vice President Pedro Alliana, 52, was sworn in before a special joint session of Congress as the 53rd president of Paraguay. He will serve out the remainder of Pena’s term, which runs until 15 August 2028. Prosecutors then ordered Pena placed under house arrest at his residence in Asuncion, on suspicion of breach of trust, influence peddling, and misappropriation of funds. The crisis behind the removal centers on Ueno Bank, a digital lender with about three million customers that administered around 800 million dollars in public money.
Quick Facts
| Detail | What is reported |
|---|---|
| Date of removal | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Senate vote | 44 in favor, 45th member absent |
| Lower chamber vote | 78 to 0 in favor of impeachment |
| Ground for removal | Poor performance in duties, described as misconduct in office |
| President removed | Santiago Pena, 44, in office since August 2023, from the Colorado Party |
| New president | Pedro Alliana, 52, sworn in as the 53rd president of Paraguay |
| Term to be served | The remainder of Pena’s term, until 15 August 2028 |
| Legal position of Pena | Under house arrest at his residence in Asuncion, case number 92/2026 |
| Bank at the center | Ueno Bank, about three million customers, around 800 million dollars in public money |
| Central Bank action | Seized and intervened in Ueno Bank on November 3, 2026 |
How the Senate Vote Unfolded
The removal of Santiago Pena moved with a speed that surprised many observers of Paraguayan politics. The lower chamber of Congress had already voted 78 to 0 in favor of impeachment, with no vote recorded against the measure. That unanimous result set the stage for the Senate trial, which was held on a single day. The Senate then voted to remove Pena from office, with all 44 senators present voting in favor and the 45th member absent. The count reflects the senators who were present and voting, since 44 senators voted for removal and the 45th member of the chamber was absent.
The formal ground was poor performance in his duties, framed in the proceedings as misconduct in office. That wording matters, because it places the case in the category of a political judgment by Congress on how the president carried out his office, rather than a finding by a court on a criminal charge. The criminal questions are separate, and they are now being handled by prosecutors. Our earlier report on the impeachment trial opening and the rejection of Pena’s resignation on November 6 sets out how the day began, before the Senate reached its final vote.
The removal also carried a direct personal cost for Pena beyond the loss of the presidency. Impeachment stripped him of the lifetime Senate seat granted to former presidents, and it stripped him of the immunity that goes with that seat. The decision left him exposed to the criminal process, and the house arrest order followed on the same day.
The Ueno Bank Crisis at the Center of the Story
To understand why Congress moved so fast, it is necessary to understand Ueno Bank. The bank began as a niche fintech launched in 2021, and it grew with remarkable speed into the fifth-largest bank in Paraguay by deposits. It served about three million customers, which is nearly half the population of the country. For a bank that had existed for only about five years, that scale of growth was extraordinary, and it meant that trouble at the bank would touch an enormous number of ordinary people.
On November 3, Paraguay’s Central Bank seized and intervened in Ueno Bank after a severe solvency crisis. A solvency crisis means the bank faced serious doubts about its ability to meet its obligations, and the intervention by the Central Bank was a sign of how grave the situation had become. After the intervention, millions of customers were unable to access their accounts. For those customers, the loss of access was an immediate and personal problem. Our earlier coverage of Pena’s resignation offer and the collapse of Ueno Bank traces how the banking failure became a political crisis.
From a Resignation Offer to House Arrest
The day before the Senate vote, on Thursday, November 5, Pena recorded a video address in which he expressed regret and offered his formal resignation. The offer might have given him a different exit from office, one chosen by him rather than imposed by Congress. Lawmakers rejected the resignation and pushed ahead with impeachment instead. That choice had real consequences, because resignation would have left him a former president with the normal protections of that status, while removal through impeachment stripped him of the lifetime Senate seat and the immunity attached to it.
The criminal process then moved quickly. Prosecutors ordered Pena placed under house arrest at his residence in Asuncion. The order was announced by Prosecutor Silvia Margarita Gonzalez Vester, and the case is recorded as case number 92/2026. The suspicions listed against him are breach of trust, known in Spanish as lesion de confianza, influence peddling, and misappropriation of funds. The Attorney General has opened three criminal cases in connection with the matter. Pena is due before prosecutors at the economic crimes unit on Saturday morning.
Pedro Alliana Takes Over as the 53rd President
Within the hour of the Senate vote, Pedro Alliana was sworn in before a special joint session of Congress as Paraguay’s 53rd president. Alliana is 52 years old, and he had served as vice president under Pena. His move from vice president to president followed the normal line of succession, and the swearing-in was carried out quickly so that the country would not be left without a president after the removal.
Alliana pledged that he would not turn his back on the nearly three million depositors affected by the crisis. The pledge speaks directly to the people who have been unable to access their accounts since the Central Bank intervened in Ueno Bank. For those depositors, the change of president is less important than the question of when they will be able to reach their money again, and what protection their savings will receive.
The new president is not untouched by the same crisis. An opposition motion to impeach Alliana over the same crisis failed to secure congressional approval. That failed motion is part of the story, because it shows that the political pressure did not stop with Pena. Alliana faced a challenge of his own, and Congress did not approve it. He now governs as president while the questions about the bank, the public money, and the responsibility for the crisis remain open.
What Happens Next for Depositors and for Paraguay
The most urgent question now belongs to the depositors. About three million customers of Ueno Bank have been caught in the crisis, and millions were left unable to access their accounts after the Central Bank intervened on November 3. The new president has pledged not to turn his back on them, but a pledge is not the same as a plan, and the details of how depositors will be protected have not been set out in the facts available so far.
The second question belongs to the criminal process. Pena is under house arrest, and he is due before prosecutors at the economic crimes unit on Saturday morning. The Attorney General has opened three criminal cases. The suspicions will now be tested through the prosecutors and the courts. Until the courts reach a decision, the allegations remain unproven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Santiago Pena removed from office?
Paraguay’s Senate voted on Friday, November 6, 2026, to remove Pena from office on the ground of poor performance in his duties, described as misconduct in office, with all 44 senators present voting in favor and one member absent. The lower chamber had voted 78 to 0 in favor of impeachment. The removal followed a fast-tracked one-day trial, and it came after the Central Bank intervened in Ueno Bank on November 3 during a severe solvency crisis.
Why did lawmakers reject Pena’s resignation?
On Thursday, November 5, Pena recorded a video address expressing regret and offering his formal resignation. Lawmakers rejected the resignation and pushed ahead with impeachment. That choice mattered, because removal through impeachment stripped Pena of the lifetime Senate seat and the immunity granted to former presidents. A resignation would not have carried those consequences in the same way, and Congress chose the impeachment path instead.
Who is Pedro Alliana, and how long will he serve as president?
Pedro Alliana, 52, was the vice president under Pena, and he was sworn in within the hour before a special joint session of Congress as Paraguay’s 53rd president. He will serve out the remainder of Pena’s term, which runs until 15 August 2028. Alliana pledged he would not turn his back on the nearly three million depositors affected by the crisis.
What is Pena accused of, and what happens next in the criminal cases?
Prosecutors ordered Pena placed under house arrest at his residence in Asuncion on suspicion of breach of trust, influence peddling, and misappropriation of funds. The Attorney General opened three criminal cases, and the case is recorded as case number 92/2026. Prosecutor Silvia Margarita Gonzalez Vester announced the house arrest. Pena is due before prosecutors at the economic crimes unit on Saturday morning. The allegations remain suspicions at this stage, and the criminal process will now move through the prosecutors and the courts.
Sources
Facts in this article are drawn from the following sources. All reporting in this article is presented in the writer’s own words, and no sentence has been copied from these sources.
- CNN: President of Paraguay resigns
- Chronicle NG: Paraguay Senate impeaches president over Ueno Bank crisis
- NationWire: Paraguay Senate removes Pena, Alliana sworn in as president
- Clash Report: Paraguay president ousted and placed under house arrest
Final Thoughts
The removal of Santiago Pena is a story about speed, scale, and consequence. A president who took office in August 2023 as one of the youngest leaders in Paraguayan history was tried and removed by the Senate in a single day, after a unanimous vote in the lower chamber. He had offered his resignation the day before, and Congress had rejected it. Within the hour, a new president had been sworn in, and by the end of the day the former president was under house arrest at his home in Asuncion.
The scale of the crisis behind the removal is what gives the story its weight. Ueno Bank served about three million customers, nearly half the population, and administered around 800 million dollars in public money. When the Central Bank intervened on November 3, millions of people lost access to their accounts. That loss turned a banking failure into a national political crisis, and it ended a presidency.
