Begin november nam de centrale bank van Paraguay Ueno Bank over vanwege solvabiliteitsproblemen en bevroor alle tegoeden van miljoenen klanten. Een week later hebben gedupeerden nog steeds geen toegang tot hun geld, wat heeft geleid tot een diepwantrouwen in de institutionele instellingen van het land. Ook President Santiago Peña is inmiddels afgezet en beland in voorlopige hechtenis.
For nearly three million Paraguayans, November 3 began with a message on their phone screens: “We cannot display your balance.” Early that morning, Paraguay’s Central Bank took over Ueno Bank over a critical solvency problem and froze its deposits. A week later, with President Santiago Peña removed from office and in pre-trial detention, many of those affected still have no access to their money and say they have also lost faith in the country’s institutions.