Paraguay’s President Peña Faces Impeachment Over Ueno Bank Collapse

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies opened an extraordinary session on Thursday to decide whether to impeach President Santiago Peña, two days after the central bank took control of Ueno Bank. The bank had 2.9 million clients in a country of 6.1 million people, and the central bank ordered its intervention and dissolution on Tuesday after its solvency ratio fell below 50 percent of the required minimum. On Wednesday, opposition lawmakers and ruling-party dissidents filed the impeachment request against Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana with 35 signatures under Article 225 of the Constitution. The ruling Colorado Party backed an impeachment trial, and two-thirds of the Chamber must approve charges for the case to go to the Senate.