MercoPress reported Pedro Alliana became Paraguay’s interim president after the Senate removed President Santiago Peña, while AFP said a bank failure blocked savings access for about half of the country’s adults.
MercoPress reported that thousands celebrated the Senate action before hundreds later gathered outside Congress. The outlet said demonstrations continued in Asunción, where opponents demanded the governing Colorado Party leave office.
AFP said Ueno Bank’s failure earlier in the week made deposits inaccessible to people representing about half of Paraguay’s adult population. The agency reported that Alliana pledged to address the bank’s effects while in office; his term ends in August 2028.
AFP said Alliana, 52, had served as vice president for three years and described him as a Colorado Party insider. It reported that former President Horacio Cartes, who leads the governing party, backed Alliana’s rise. AFP also said Alliana had expected to seek a Senate seat in 2021, but Cartes told him to join Peña’s ticket instead.
