00:00Latin America views with alarm what happened in Paraguay, because not only did its president fall,
00:04Santiago Peña, but a myth that other leaders had as a reference point collapsed
00:08in the region. The only thing that kept Peña as president was the support of his godfather.
00:12politician, Horacio Cártez, who had an iron grip on the ruling party
00:16and a narrative of supposed economic stability. Both of those things collapsed this week.
00:20It all started in the early hours of Tuesday. The Central Bank of Paraguay intervened.
00:24Bank, one of the country's leading digital banks, because of its solvency ratio
00:27fell below half the minimum required. Branches closed and savings dwindled.
00:32Nearly 3 million customers, half the country, had their service frozen. They were also trapped.
00:36public funds, such as those of the Social Security Institute, some 850 million dollars
00:41According to the nation, the bank granted disproportionate loans and overdrafts without collateral.
00:45sufficient to companies linked to its controlling group, says the Central Bank. The court ordered
00:50The arrest of eight executives sparked protests in the streets of Asunción.
00:54to demand the resignation of Peña and other government officials. And Bueno was no stranger to this.
00:58to the president. Peña was a shareholder in the holding company that controlled the bank until 2025. And the boss
01:03Carlos Carballo, the regulator who was supposed to oversee the Central Bank, had presided over Bueno
01:08before taking office. The opposition accuses him of conflict of interest and of favoring
01:13to the entity with regulatory decisions. Peña did not respond to those accusations. Instead,
01:18He demanded Carballo's resignation and enacted a law to return the funds. None of that.
01:22It was enough for him. This is where Horacio Cartes, the former president, head of the Colorado party, and who...
01:28He propelled him to the presidency in 2023. Peña had been his finance minister. On Wednesday,
01:34Cartes announced that his party would support the impeachment trial to restore institutional order.
01:39He said that the Colorado Party would not side with the looting of public and private funds.
01:43And the pensioners. Why did they fight? Neither of them has framed it as a conflict.
01:47personal. What we see is a godfather who decides to let go of his godson's hand before
01:52He fell with him. Without the party's support, Peña had no choice but to resign with almost
01:56Two years of his term ahead. But if you think that's the end of the story,
02:00They are mistaken. Minutes later, the Chamber of Deputies approved the impeachment trial.
02:04His candidacy was unanimously rejected, with 78 votes. Now the Senate decides, and the situation becomes even more complicated.
02:10If he accepts the resignation, Peña would become a senator for life and would have parliamentary immunity, meaning
02:15protection from ordinary justice. If he is dismissed, he loses that status and could be
02:19prosecuted. The Prosecutor's Office, it should be noted, has already opened an investigation. That's why the opposition
02:25He says he will not accept the resignation. Meanwhile, the country is left in the hands of the vice president.
02:30Pedro Alliana, whom the Chamber of Deputies already saved from impeachment by 48 votes
02:35Against 30. For right-wing leaders in the region, it's also a major blow. In September
02:40In 2025, from Asunción, Argentine President Javier Milei said that the Paraguayan economy is
02:46a role model. Peña, for his part, repeated that Milei was trying to replicate the Paraguayan model.
02:51Low inflation, low debt, and high investment. And he's not the only one. In July, the president
02:56Chilean José Antonio Kast traveled to Asunción and told the Paraguayan Congress that Paraguay
03:01It's an example for the entire region. Today, that model is a bank under intervention, savings frozen.
03:06And a president who is fleeing from office. And, while the politicians argue, there are millions of Paraguayans...
03:11Waiting for their money. The question remains: who pays? The bank's assets? The system?
03:16financial, or ultimately, the state budget. That is, all Paraguayans. That
03:22It is the cost of the model that the region admired.
