Asuncion (Paraguay) (AFP) – The Paraguayan opposition presented a motion to remove President Santiago Pena from office over the Central Bank’s seizure of a major lender linked to him, a lawmaker told AFP on Wednesday. Protests have rippled across the South American nation after the takeover of Ueno Bank on Tuesday left millions of depositors, including pensioners, without access to their money.
Right-winger Pena owned shares in a group that controlled Ueno Bank, but he sold them last year. The request for his dismissal for alleged misconduct and conflict of interest received 35 signatures among opposition lawmakers, dissident ruling party lawmaker Mauricio Espinola told AFP. Congress will hold a session on the motion Thursday morning, he said. After examining the charges, at least 53 out of 80 lawmakers must approve the removal of Pena and Vice President Pedro Alliana for the proposed punishment to move forward. The request would then move to the Senate, where it would require 30 out of 45 votes of approval. Pena’s ruling party holds a majority in both houses.
– Life savings gone – Long lines of people trying to withdraw their money from Ueno branches snaked down Asuncion’s streets on Tuesday. Distraught depositors joined protests around the capital that evening, with more expected to take place on Wednesday. “I lost my entire life savings,” a tearful Marcelino Vergara, 68, told AFP at a demonstration. “They should all go to jail,” Vergara said.
Pena has attempted to placate rising anger among Paraguayans over the ordeal. On Wednesday, he enacted a law that “will allow savers to withdraw, in the shortest possible time, part of the guarantee funds so that the money returns to the hands of those to whom it belongs.” At his request on Tuesday, Central Bank president Carlos Carvallo, who previously chaired Ueno, stepped down. Arrest warrants were issued for eight of Ueno’s top executives, including its president, Miguel Vazquez, who turned himself in to police.
Ueno says it has over three million customers — nearly half of Paraguay’s population — and manages millions of dollars in pensions and other state funds. The Central Bank said it took over Ueno due to a severe capital shortfall, in order to “protect depositors and preserve the stability of the financial system.” Authorities have suspended its services while they organize the return of deposits. The law enacted by Pena stipulates that payments will occur within five days.
© 2024 AFP
