Paraguay President Asks All Ministers to Resign
Paraguay’s newly appointed President Pedro Alliana has asked all ministers and senior government officials to submit their resignations, as the South American country grapples with a banking crisis that has locked nearly three million people out of their accounts.
Alliana, who took office on Friday after senators impeached former President Santiago Pena over the collapse of Ueno Bank, said he had instructed his new chief of staff, Rolando de Barros, to ask ministers, secretaries and the most senior state officials holding positions of trust to submit their resignations.
Why Alliana asked for resignations
“My goal is to strengthen coordination within the government and ensure more efficient management,” Alliana wrote in a post on social media platform X, adding that “all institutions will continue to operate with complete normality.”
The move comes just days after Alliana, who previously served as vice president under Pena, was sworn in to serve the remainder of Pena’s term until August 2028. Pena offered his resignation on November 5, but Congress refused it and removed him from office the next day, with all 44 senators present voting in favour of impeachment.
The Ueno Bank collapse
The crisis began on November 3, when Paraguay’s Central Bank took control of Ueno Bank after finding that its solvency ratio had fallen below half the regulatory minimum. The seizure froze the deposits of nearly three million customers — almost half of the country’s population — and triggered massive protests across the country.
Pena is accused of using his influence as president to steer millions in government deposits to Ueno and of hiding or downplaying the bank’s financial troubles despite warnings about questionable loans and solvency issues. He had held shares in the bank’s holding company until he sold them last year.
Authorities placed the former leader under house arrest immediately after his impeachment, and prosecutors raided his home over the weekend as part of the probe into the bank collapse. Pena now faces criminal charges, including alleged breach of trust.
New central bank chief appointed
Paraguay’s Congress on Monday named economist Jorge Schreiner as the country’s new central bank governor, after Alliana put forward his name earlier the same day. The appointment follows the removal of former central bank chief Carlos Carvallo on Friday, who now faces charges from prosecutors over alleged links to Ueno and has been placed in pretrial detention.
Alliana has also begun reshaping his cabinet, making new appointments to the Interior Ministry and the Public Works Ministry. Economy and Finance Minister Oscar Lovera and Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez Lezcano remained in their posts. Congress also elected Senator Antonio Barrios to succeed Alliana as vice president.
Depositors slowly getting their money back
The Central Bank began returning deposits on Thursday through a guarantee fund. By Saturday, it had returned nearly 160 million US dollars to almost 1.2 million people. Prosecutors said on Monday they had asked the United States, Luxembourg and Argentina for help tracing and recovering assets linked to the collapsed bank.
On Sunday, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Alliana, according to the new president. Teachers have also gone on strike, adding to the pressure on the new government as it tries to steady the country.
The fund must complete the guaranteed payments by November 17. Millions of Paraguayans are still waiting to regain full access to their savings, and the new president’s first days in office will be judged on whether the money comes back.
Source: WION, Free Malaysia Today (AFP), Asharq Al-Awsat