Asunción (Paraguay) (AFP) - Pedro Alliana, a seasoned conservative politician and former basketball player, always dreamed of being president of Paraguay, although he hardly imagined that he would achieve his goal in one leap, without going through the polls and under a financial storm that has half the population in suspense.

First modification: 11/09/2026 - 12:17

This Friday, the 52-year-old vice president took command of a country convulsed by the collapse of the digital bank Ueno Bank, where three million people had their deposits.

Alliana replaced President Santiago Peña, after his dismissal in an express impeachment trial and subsequent house arrest for his alleged responsibility in the collapse of the entity that was intervened by the Central Bank.

The vice president planned to run in the 2028 elections with the omnipresent Colorado Party. The banking scandal precipitated his rise to power. Alliana must complete the mandate of Santiago Peña.

"I want to be president (...) I have the capacity to be president of the Republic," he repeated before the unexpected outcome of the crisis.

Hércules Pedro Lorenzo Alliana Rodríguez was born on February 19, 1974 in Pilar, a city 300 kilometers south of Asunción. Since his time as a basketball player he has been nicknamed "Mangui" and was part of the Paraguayan national team.

A former merchant, he has forged his political career alongside Horacio Cartes (2013-2018), the influential former president and leader of the Colorado Party, sanctioned for corruption by the United States.

Pedro Alliana took office with the commitment that he would not leave those affected by the "financial disaster" alone.

"They will be fully compensated. We are not going to leave them alone," he said after receiving the presidential command.

Against misfortune

Pedro Alliana has forged himself against adversity. In 2018 he was diagnosed with leukemia. He was treated in Brazil and although he considered the disease over, three years later he had to undergo chemotherapy again.

Before, he had had to face the kidnapping and murder of his brother Rodolfo at the age of 24 at the hands of criminals.

Politics has always been present in his life. His parents, Héctor Alliana and María Nidia Rodríguez, were departmental councilors.

At 34 years old, he was elected governor of the department of Ñeembucú. He was a deputy between 2013 and 2023, presided over the Chamber from 2019 to 2022 and headed the Colorado Party until 2023.

When he wanted to run for the Senate, former President Cartes assigned him the task of accompanying Santiago Peña.

Married to the representative Fabiana Souto, with whom he has four children, he is accused of nepotism. Several members of his family are civil servants, including his first-born daughter, Montserrat Alliana.

"Pedro, you are blessed," he praised him at a party event, and asked him to be the "next president of the Republic."

However, the relationship soured a few months ago when Cartes withdrew his support for the pre-candidacy. We must not confuse "loyalty with obsequence," Alliana said then.

Alliana managed to escape the disgrace that surrounds former President Peña.

The parliamentarians rejected the request to also subject him to impeachment. This Friday, in front of Congress, he assumed the reins of a country in crisis.

© 2026 AFP

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