Paraguayan President Santiago Peña resigned on Thursday amid a crisis involving Ueno Bank. (Foto: Instagram)
Paraguay’s Santiago Peña, who resigned as president on Thursday, Nov. 5, is aligned with the right and describes himself as socially conservative and economically liberal. He belongs to the Colorado Party, formally the National Republican Association (ANR), a major political force and one of South America’s longest-established parties. The party is associated with conservatism, economic liberalism and Paraguayan nationalism.
The Colorado Party has been at the center of Paraguayan politics for decades. Peña is part of its Cartista faction, linked to former President Horacio Cartes, who supported Peña’s candidacy. Peña won the presidency in April 2023, defeating opposition candidate Efraín Alegre. He succeeded Mario Abdo Benítez, also a member of the Colorado Party, and took office in August 2023. In 2018, Peña had competed in the party’s internal election but lost to Abdo Benítez.
On economic policy, Peña has advocated maintaining low taxes and creating conditions favorable to businesses. He has presented Paraguay as a country with potential to attract investment and expand its role in international trade. At the same time, he has said that private-sector activity should be balanced with a government role in areas including health, education and public safety.
Peña’s positions on social issues are conservative, particularly on family matters. He has opposed legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage. In 2024, he said Paraguayan society was conservative and pointed to the country’s constitution, which establishes the union of a man and a woman as the basis of a family.
Peña has also said his political outlook should not be reduced to a simple left-right divide. In a 2023 interview with Argentine newspaper Clarín, he acknowledged that his profile might be viewed as closer to the right. He said, however, that he favored policies aimed at Paraguay’s development and a balance between the role of the state and the market economy.
Peña studied economics at Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Paraguay and began his professional career at the Central Bank of Paraguay. He later completed postgraduate studies at Columbia University in the United States and worked at the International Monetary Fund in a department dealing with African affairs. After returning to Paraguay, he went back to the central bank. In 2015, during Cartes’ government, he became finance minister, serving until 2017; while in that post, he joined the Colorado Party.
Peña’s resignation followed a crisis involving Ueno Bank. On Nov. 3, Paraguay’s Central Bank ordered the institution to suspend operations and began a resolution process, saying the bank was unable to meet its financial obligations. Peña’s relationship with the bank’s controlling group prompted opposition lawmakers to file an impeachment request. The crisis also led to the resignation of Central Bank President Carlos Carvallo and two other members of the bank’s board.
