Paraguay Senate Rejects President's Request to Extend Impeachment Defense Preparation Time

TechFlow reported on Nov. 7 that according to Decrypt, Paraguay's Senate rejected President Santiago Peña's request for an additional 72 hours to prepare his impeachment defense. The Senate had originally planned to vote on his removal on Friday evening local time.

During protests sparked by the Ueno Bank crisis, Peña had previously submitted his resignation, but a joint session of Congress convened to consider it was adjourned for lack of a quorum. He later stated that he would face impeachment and mount his own defense. The House of Representatives previously initiated impeachment proceedings with a 78-0 vote.

The report also noted that the Minister of the Interior and the Central Bank Governor have resigned, and eight Ueno executives have been arrested. Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether Peña bears responsibility for the bank's misconduct, allegations that Peña denies.