In brief
Pedro Alliana, 52, the longtime Colorado Party leader and former party president, became Paraguay’s president when the Senate removed Santiago Peña amid a crisis over the failed digital lender Ueno. Alliana will finish Peña’s term until August 2028, promising policy continuity while a new leadership line is debated. Analysts see the change as a step toward preserving the party’s long‑standing dominance amid growing pressure for reforms.
In the capital of Paraguay, Asunción, the Senate’s decision on Monday elected Vice‑president Pedro Alliana as the country’s new president. The vote followed the impeachment of President Santiago Peña, whose handling of a collapsed digital lender called Ueno triggered a flurry of political backlash and financial uncertainty.
Alliana’s rise arrives at a time the nation is grappling with the fallout from the Ueno collapse, which left millions of Paraguayans without access to their accounts. Peña, who was a business partner in the group that owned Ueno until March 2025, lost the support of senior Colorado Party figures after lawmakers accused him of mishandling the crisis.
During Monday’s announcement, Alliana told reporters, "I want to be president of the Republic," adding that he believed he possessed the capacity, knowledge, and ideas necessary for the role. He also said he would not take responsibility for mistakes made by others, a statement that many saw as a quiet acknowledgement of the President’s failure to prevent Ueno’s collapse.
"I want to be president of the Republic," said Alliana.
"I think I have the capacity, I have the knowledge, I have the ideas."
Alliana is 52 and has spent most of his career inside the Colorado Party, which has governed Paraguay for most of the last eight decades. He served as party president for seven years and worked alongside former President Horacio Cartes, a relationship that informed his political base and his claim to continuity with the ruling party’s agenda.
The Senate’s vote was interpreted by observers as an attempt to maintain stability while introducing a new leadership dynamic. Mariano Machado, Americas principal analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, warned that an Alliana presidency would likely result in a policy continuation that relies on Cartes’ legacy and a weakened mandate. He added, “Expect orthodox macroeconomic policy to continue, but with greater pressure for spending on patronage ahead of the 2028 elections.”
"An Alliana presidency means policy continuity, dependence on Cartes and a weak mandate," said Mariano Machado.
Alliana has highlighted his close ties between Paraguay and the United States, referring to the Trump administration’s Shield of the Americas initiative as a tool to curb organized crime. He has also remained a steadfast supporter of Paraguay’s formal diplomatic links with Taiwan and Israel.
Alliana will serve out the remainder of Peña’s term, which ends in August 2028. The interim presidency comes amid broader concerns about the country’s financial stability and the prospects of the Colorado Party before the December primary election, where Alliana had previously announced a bid for the party’s nomination — a bid he suspended as the crisis expanded.
As Paraguay faces an uncertain economic outlook and the aftermath of Ueno’s collapse, Alliana’s leadership will be closely watched to see whether it can restore public confidence and navigate the country toward a more stable future while keeping the Colorado Party’s long‑standing control intact.
