President steps down as banking crisis sows chaos

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AFP) — A banking scandal that left almost half Paraguay’s population without access to their savings prompted President Santiago Peña to resign and thousands to take to the streets in angry protest Thursday.

Congress put Peña’s resignation on hold while the impeachment process moves forwards, which means he will remain in office provisionally.

The Central Bank’s seizure of the Peña-linked Ueno Bank two days earlier froze the deposits of some three million people, including pensioners, and sparked angry demonstrations across the country.

Thousands of Paraguayans gathered outside Congress on Thursday to protest against the president, who is still technically in power.

“Give back the money,” Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists heard them yelling. Earlier demonstrations featured clashes with the police, who used tear gas and water cannons on the crowd.

“My family ran out of money, we don’t have any cash. Santi (Pena) is a criminal, he has to go to jail,” 21-year-old student protester Andres Maldonado told AFP.