Paraguay Senate rejects delay in Santiago Pena impeachment hearing

The Paraguay Senate rejected President Santiago Pena's request to delay his impeachment hearing by 72 hours and kept his summons for Friday afternoon local time. The request was turned down in a vote of 39 senators against, three in favor, two abstaining and one absent. Pena argued that less than 12 hours since he received notice was not enough time to appoint a lawyer and prepare a defense against a 15-page indictment with about 300 pages of attachments. The crisis was triggered by the collapse of Ueno Bank, which had previously been placed under intervention by the Central Bank of Paraguay after its liquidity and solvency fell. Millions of customers lost access to their deposits, prompting protests in Asuncion and accusations of a conflict of interest because Pena once held shares in Ueno Holding. If his resignation ultimately takes effect, Vice President Pedro Alliana would replace him.