By AFP | Posted by TOE

Paraguay’s Santiago Pena has had a colorful career, going from an IMF economist to finance minister to the youngest-ever president of his small South American nation.

But who knows what comes next for the 47-year-old following his attempted resignation amid an explosive banking crisis that has blocked nearly half of Paraguay’s population from accessing their money.

Pena took power in 2023, becoming the fresh young face of the conservative Colorado Party, which has ruled for nearly eight decades.

Even the US-allied president’s peers turned against him following the dramatic takeover of a bank linked to him, with party leader and ex-president Horacio Cartes backing the impeachment of his erstwhile mentee.

Pena’s departure likely won’t alter Paraguay’s close relationship with the United States, however, with Vice President Pedro Alliana of the same party preparing to take the reins.

– ‘Difficult time’ –

Born in Asuncion into a well-to-do family on November 16, 1978, Santiago Pena gained prominence as a technocratic operator and a brilliant academic in his adult life.

He married his wife Leticia Ocampos after she got pregnant when the pair were teenagers.

“It was a difficult time in my life,” the father of two once told an interviewer about early parenthood.

He said both families helped the young couple and encouraged him to continue studying, which he did at Columbia University in New York.

Stints working abroad included a position in the International Monetary Fund’s Africa Department in Washington.

He worked as a Paraguay Central Bank official in the 2000s before joining the board of directors, transitioning to the government as finance minister in 2015.

He won presidential elections comfortably in 2023, with 42.7 percent of the vote against 27.5 percent for his center-left rival.

– US, Israel aligned –

As president, Pena has shown enthusiasm for US President Donald Trump’s Latin America policies and has brought Asuncion closer to Washington.

Paraguay joined Trump’s anti-cartel Shield of the Americas coalition in March, and Pena has not wavered in his pro-Taiwan stance in the face of China’s claims over the territory.

He is also a strong supporter of Israel and wanted to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a highly contentious shift since the disputed territory is not recognized as Israel’s capital.

Pena is a defender of what he describes as traditional family values: against abortion and gay marriage.

For him, a family is comprised of “mother, father and children.”

He has previously come under fire for praising the “stability” he said dictator Alfredo Stroessner (1954-89) had brought to Paraguay, though “unfortunately, many freedoms and human rights were curtailed.”

Up to 3,000 people were killed or disappeared under the Stroessner regime.

– Downfall –

The former economist’s downfall came with Tuesday’s takeover of Ueno Bank by Paraguay’s Central Bank, which cited severe capital shortfalls.

The move blocked almost three million depositors, including pensioners, from accessing their accounts and provoked angry protests across the country.

Pena owned shares in a group that controlled the bank, but he sold them last year.

Lawmakers who filed a motion to impeach the president accused him of a conflict of interest and of favoring Ueno through regulatory decisions and the placement of pension funds.

In a video posted on X, Pena asked Paraguayans for forgiveness.

“It was never my intention to betray the trust you placed in me,” he said.

Pena is technically still leader as he awaits parliamentary approval of his resignation and is facing impeachment proceedings due to begin Friday.

“We will not side with the plundering of public, private, and pensioners’ funds,” Cartes posted on social media Thursday.

Pena “has betrayed the country for money,” ruling party Senator Oscar Salomon told reporters.