Protests in Paraguay after freezing of millions of citizens' savings

The Paraguayan capital Asunción witnessed widespread popular protests against the backdrop of a banking crisis that led to the freezing of deposits belonging to about three million citizens, and resulted in President Santiago Peña announcing his resignation, while Congress decided to suspend ruling on it and proceed with impeachment proceedings against him on charges related to misconduct and conflict of interest.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the Congress building, raising banners demanding justice and the recovery of depositors' funds, and chanting slogans calling for the president's departure and the accountability of those responsible for the crisis, including "Enough! Let them all leave!"

The crisis erupted after the Central Bank placed the "Ueno" bank, linked to the president, under its control two days ago, leading to the freezing of deposits of about three million people, including retirees and small business owners, amid fears of losing their savings.

On the political level, legislators voted unanimously to launch impeachment proceedings against Peña, over accusations of misconduct and conflict of interest in his dealings with the bank. However, the Congress session was unable to complete the procedures for accepting the resignation due to the lack of a legal quorum, which kept the president temporarily in his position, with impeachment sessions set to begin Friday morning.

Peña had announced his resignation in a video recording published on the "X" platform, offering his apology to the Paraguayan people, and stressing that his priority is to "reassure citizens who entrusted their savings to the financial system," denying that he intentionally abused their trust.

Under constitutional arrangements, Vice President Pedro Alliana is expected to assume leadership of the country after the completion of procedures related to the resignation, at a time when popular demands continue for the recovery of depositors' funds and the accountability of those responsible for the crisis.

(Source: UNews)