Peña says he will face his impeachment trial as Argentina denies he has entered the country

Peña remains formally president because offering a resignation does not itself end a president’s tenure. Congress had to consider and accept or reject it. That joint session was suspended after ruling Colorado Party deputies walked out, leaving lawmakers without the quorum needed to decide. Until a valid decision occurs, Peña stays in office.

The timing created a legal and political clash. Peña tendered his resignation, but the Senate also moved to begin an impeachment trial for “poor performance of his duties.” After the resignation session failed, Peña said he would appear before the Senate and exercise his right to a defence. The Chamber of Deputies had already approved the impeachment charges by 78 votes to none.

The immediate result is continued uncertainty. Peña is still president while the resignation remains undecided and the impeachment process proceeds. If Congress later accepts the resignation, Vice President Pedro Alliana would take over until August 15, 2028. If the Senate removes Peña, he loses parliamentary protection.

An impeachment trial is a formal legislative proceeding that tests whether a president should remain in office. It is not simply a political debate. The legislature considers charges, hears arguments, and reaches a removal decision under constitutional rules. In Peña’s case, the stated ground is “poor performance of his duties.”

Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies has already approved the charges by 78 votes to none. The Senate then called an extraordinary session to set the trial in motion and another session to begin proceedings with Peña present. Peña said he would attend and exercise his right to a defence. This gives him a formal chance to answer the accusations.

The Senate’s final decision is decisive. A two-thirds majority is required to remove Peña from office. If that threshold is reached, he loses parliamentary immunity. If it is not, the article does not state the trial’s further legal outcome, while the unresolved resignation remains another route for ending his presidency.

Removal requires a two-thirds majority in Paraguay’s Senate. This is a high threshold because impeachment ends a president’s tenure and carries legal consequences. A simple majority is not enough. The Senate must therefore assemble broad support before it can remove Peña from office.

The initial vote was much stronger than a narrow majority. The Chamber of Deputies approved the impeachment charges by 78 votes to none. That means every deputy voting on the charges supported sending them forward, according to the article. The vote approved the case, but it did not itself remove Peña.

The next step is the Senate trial. Senators are to begin proceedings with Peña present, allowing him to defend himself. The article does not give the Senate’s total membership or predict its vote. The central uncertainty is whether the senators supporting impeachment can reach the required two-thirds majority. If they do, Peña is removed and loses parliamentary protection.

The choice between resignation and impeachment affects Peña’s legal position after leaving office. If Congress accepts his resignation, he would receive a lifetime seat in the Senate. That seat comes with parliamentary immunity, a legal protection the article says he would retain.

Impeachment produces a different result. If the Senate removes Peña, he loses that protection. The distinction matters because prosecutors have reportedly announced proceedings against him, although no formal charges have yet been brought. His departure route could therefore shape his exposure to legal action.

For now, neither route has been completed. Congress failed to reach a quorum to consider the resignation, while the Senate began setting the impeachment trial in motion. The opposition and much of the ruling party, including Colorado Party leader and former President Horacio Cartes, support impeachment. Peña has said he will attend and defend himself.

The Ueno Bank takeover was the immediate trigger for the political crisis. The bank froze deposits belonging to nearly three million customers and hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds. That disruption created a major public and governmental problem, placing Peña’s handling of events under intense scrutiny.

The article links the bank action directly to the crisis’s start. It says the crisis erupted on Tuesday with the takeover, then describes the resignation and impeachment confrontation that followed. The Senate is pursuing charges based on “poor performance of his duties,” while prosecutors have reportedly announced proceedings, though they have not filed formal charges.

The political consequences are still unfolding. The opposition and much of the Colorado Party support impeachment, and the lower house approved the charges 78 to none. The article does not establish the bank’s cause or assign specific responsibility. It does show that frozen private and public money provided the immediate backdrop to Peña’s possible departure.

The crisis involves several competing actors. President Santiago Peña offered to resign but remains in office. The Senate is moving the impeachment trial forward and will decide whether to remove him. The Chamber of Deputies approved the charges, while opposition lawmakers and much of the ruling Colorado Party support impeachment.

The Colorado Party also helped keep the resignation undecided. Its deputies walked out of the joint congressional session, causing the loss of a quorum. Party leader and former President Horacio Cartes supports impeachment, despite the party being the ruling force. Vice President Pedro Alliana has a constitutional succession role if Peña leaves.

The Senate’s next task is to conduct proceedings with Peña present and consider his defence. If senators reach the two-thirds removal threshold, Peña loses parliamentary immunity. If Congress accepts his resignation instead, Alliana takes over until August 15, 2028, and Peña receives a lifetime Senate seat. Argentina’s government has denied records of Peña entering the country.

Constitutional systems generally balance accountability and continuity in two steps. A legislature can investigate or impeach a president for serious failures, while a defined voting process prevents removal by a single faction. Separately, succession rules identify who takes over if the president resigns, is removed, or otherwise leaves office. These mechanisms protect both oversight and stable government.

Paraguay’s crisis illustrates the balance. The Chamber of Deputies approved charges by 78 votes to none, but the Senate needs a two-thirds majority to remove Peña. At the same time, Congress must decide whether to accept his resignation. If he leaves office, Vice President Pedro Alliana would take over until August 15, 2028.

The competing routes create different consequences. Resignation would give Peña a lifetime Senate seat and parliamentary immunity. Impeachment would remove him and end that protection. The article shows continuity through succession, but it does not detail Paraguay’s broader constitutional rules beyond this case.