Paraguay's Senate tries Peña while his resignation sits untouched

Paraguay's Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, refused on Friday to give President Santiago Peña another 72 hours to prepare his defense. The delay lost 39-3, with 2 abstentions.

Senators then admitted all of the prosecution's evidence, 41-0.

Peña did not show up. His lawyers, Adolfo Ferreiro and Ricardo Preda, went in his place and argue the trial is void because the president has already resigned. Senators see it the other way: a resignation does not take effect until Congress deals with it, and the joint session meant to do so on Thursday never reached a quorum. So the presidency has not been declared vacant.

On Thursday, Peña wrote on X that he would exercise his right to a defense: "I will do it with arguments and evidence." On Friday he asked in writing for the extension, saying the 12 hours he was given were not enough.

The prosecutors, deputies who carry the case for the lower house, began their closing arguments in the afternoon. "We come to formally present the accusation under the mandate we received," said Rep. Rocío Vallejo.

The charges, which the Chamber of Deputies approved with 78 votes, center on Ueno Bank, the digital lender the central bank took over on Nov. 3. Peña was a partner in the group that owned it until March 2025. The case is a political accusation, not a conviction. If it succeeds, Peña would be the second Paraguayan president tried this way in recent history, after Fernando Lugo in 2012.

Removal takes two-thirds of the Senate, 30 of 45 votes, under Article 225 of the Constitution. A conviction would also close off the lifetime Senate seat the Constitution gives former presidents. If Congress instead accepted the resignation Peña announced on video, Vice President Pedro Alliana would take over.

The vote on his guilt comes once the prosecution and the defense finish their closing arguments.