Protesters Demand Prison for Impeached Ex-President Peña
On Friday, 6 November 2026, residents of the La Piedad neighborhood in Asunción gathered outside the former president’s house and played Rata de dos patas at full volume, using the song as a protest against his house arrest.
Demands and legal backdrop
Former president Santiago Peña had been removed from office after the Senate approved his impeachment for alleged mishandling of duties linked to the Ueno Bank crisis. Vice-president Pedro Alliana assumed the presidency following Peña’s departure. The central bank stepped in on 3 November, taking control of Ueno Bank after uncovering irregularities that forced a suspension of its operations and left millions of account holders without access to their funds.
Prosecutors ordered Peña to remain confined to his home after his detention, but neighbors insisted that he be transferred to the Tacumbú penitentiary, one of the country’s main prisons. They argued that house confinement amounted to a privilege unavailable to ordinary citizens. Earlier, the Fiscalía had also ordered his detention as part of an investigation into alleged breach of trust and other punishable acts linked to the banking scandal.
Gathered demonstrators displayed signs reading “Santi Peña fuera del barrio” and pledged to keep a nightly vigil. The crowd’s purpose was to pressure authorities into moving the former leader from his residence to a correctional facility.
Andrea, a local resident, told reporters she would stay at the site to prevent Peña from leaving his home and demanded his transfer to Tacumbú. She emphasized that the community would not accept any lenient treatment.
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Sergio, another neighbor, described the house arrest as a special concession, stating that ordinary people would never receive such a measure. He added that the arrangement undermined public trust in the justice system.
Andrea Salazar, speaking to a newspaper, said no citizen should enjoy preferential handling. She warned that the protest would continue until the former president was placed in a prison cell.
During the demonstration, clashes erupted between protesters and police, resulting in a police commissioner being injured. Authorities later announced they were evaluating the possibility of moving Peña, and that night he was escorted to the Presidential Escort Regiment.
Song origins and political resonance
The protest’s soundtrack, Rata de dos patas, was composed by Manuel Eduardo Toscano and popularized by Mexican singer Paquita la del Barrio. In a 2019 interview, Toscano said the song was inspired by a former Mexican president, Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Salinas de Gortari, who governed Mexico from 1988 to 1994, was the political figure Toscano referenced as the muse for the track. Toscano explained that he wanted to craft verses as striking as the blunt remarks Paquita delivers on stage when confronting men, giving the song its characteristic force.
