PARAGUAY · BREAKING
Published Monday, 9 November, 4:15 p.m. ET · Source: Paraguay Senate, Office of the President, Central Bank of Paraguay
Key Facts
- What Paraguay’s Senate approved economist Jorge Schreiner as central bank president on Monday, 31 votes to one.
- Why Ueno Bank, a lender that froze nearly three million depositors, cost President Santiago Peña his job.
- Next President Pedro Alliana asked ministers to offer their posts; no repayment date is set.
- Who Fernando Rivarola, a former bank supervisor, also joins the central bank’s board.
- Prediction markets Polymarket, a US prediction platform, puts Alliana at 12.5% for Paraguay’s 2028 presidency (9 November, 4:00 p.m. ET).
- Power Index Paraguay ranks 10th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 35.0 points (November 2026 edition).
Paraguay is trying to calm a banking crisis by changing the people who run the central bank. On Monday 9 November its Senate approved Jorge Schreiner, an economist and former securities regulator, as president of the central bank, while President Pedro Alliana told his ministers to offer their posts.
Six days after the central bank seized Ueno Bank, Paraguay has a new central bank chief. The Senate approved Jorge Luis Schreiner on Monday by 31 votes out of 33 senators present, with one abstention and one vote against, according to the Senate record.
It also approved Fernando Rivarola, a former bank-supervision manager, for the central bank’s board by a unanimous 33 votes. Alliana, who took over on Friday 6 November, had proposed both men.
Why Paraguay Is Changing Its Central Bank
The crisis began on Tuesday 3 November, when the central bank took control of Ueno Bank, a digital lender, for lacking enough capital. Almost three million people lost access to their deposits.
Ueno has been under central bank control since 3 November, and Peña had governed since August 2023 (a term that ran to 2028). Three days later the Senate removed Peña in an impeachment vote, and he was detained.
He held shares in Ueno’s parent group until 2025. See our report on the removal and our update on his pretrial detention.
Who Is Jorge Schreiner?
Schreiner, an economist, once led the National Securities Commission, the market regulator, and sat on the central bank’s board, its top decision-making body. Alliana proposed him for the post on Sunday 8 November.
The Supervisor Who Saw It Coming
Rivarola is the more symbolic pick. Paraguayan press reports say he wrote a supervision report that warned about risks at Ueno before its collapse, and Alliana praised him as “committed and brave”.
We have not seen the report itself.
A Cabinet on Notice
On X, the social network, Alliana said he had told his chief of staff, Rolando de Barros, to ask ministers, secretaries and top officials in posts of trust to put their jobs at his disposal. He insisted that “the functioning of all institutions will continue with absolute normality”.
On Monday he also swore in Ariel Martínez as interior minister, Juan Carlos Baruja as public works minister and de Barros as head of the Civil Cabinet.
What It Means for US Readers
Paraguay is a major soy and beef exporter, so a central bank that depositors and lenders trust matters to traders in its bonds and its currency, the guaraní (Paraguay’s national currency). The winners from Monday’s vote are savers, who now have a regulator-turned-governor and a whistle-blowing supervisor at the bank’s helm; the losers are officials tied to the old Peña circle, who face a review of their posts.
Our profile of Alliana explains the new president. His priorities, set out on Monday, are to speed up the return of savings and to ease taxes for people hurt by the collapse.
What Prediction Markets Say
Polymarket, a US prediction platform, prices Pedro Alliana at 12.5% to win Paraguay’s 2028 presidential election, behind two rivals at 19.5% and 16.2% (9 November, 4:00 p.m. ET). The market has seen about US$18,000 in trades, so it is thin.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Comes Next
Three things would show whether the reset is working: the first repayments to Ueno savers, the outcome of the ministers’ offers, and the next hearing in Peña’s case. None has a published date, and Peña has not been convicted of anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Paraguay's new central bank president?
Jorge Luis Schreiner, an economist and former head of the National Securities Commission. The Senate approved him on 9 November 2026, 31 votes to one.
Why did Paraguay change its central bank chief?
Ueno Bank, a digital lender, was seized on 3 November and left almost three million people without access to deposits. President Peña was removed by the Senate on 6 November.
Sources: Senate of Paraguay session of 9 November 2026; Office of the President of Paraguay statements on X, 8 and 9 November 2026; Central Bank of Paraguay; Polymarket market prices, read 9 November 2026, 4:00 p.m. ET.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error