Paraguay bank crisis hits emergency services
Oscar Acuña knows how to handle disasters after decades of volunteering as a firefighter, but nothing could have prepared him for a banking crisis that has severely hindered Paraguay’s emergency services.
Last week’s collapse of Ueno Bank blocked almost half of the population from accessing their money and led to the arrest and impeachment of President Santiago Peña, who is linked to the bank.
Paraguay’s volunteer firefighters had around $320,000 deposited in the online lender when the Central Bank seized control of Ueno on Nov. 3, citing serious solvency problems.
“Just as many savers in our institution were defrauded, we as an institution were also defrauded, and today we are suffering the consequences,” a glassy-eyed Acuña told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The 45-year-old commands the Sixth Volunteer Fire Company in Mariano Roque Alonso, a city located next to the capital Asuncion. It receives some funding from the government, but more than half its finances come from donations from ordinary people.
The crisis has forced his team to choose which emergencies to respond to given the lack of resources.
He and some 6,500 volunteers spread across 140 stations nationwide, all similarly affected, are praying for an accident-free period.
The biggest concern is fuel, which powers generators, pumps and other essential rescue tools along with the fire trucks themselves.
Once it runs out, “we’ll practically be unable to move,” said Acuña, adding that the station’s cash box is empty.
Peña behind bars
Other parts of the country have drastically reduced rescue operations to cope. Only one fire truck is on duty in Ita, south of Asuncion.
Almost 3 million Ueno depositors lost access to their funds.
Thousands of people have protested in several cities, demanding the return of their money and the removal of Peña, an ally of President Donald Trump, from office.
Their second wish came true, with senators impeaching him and replacing him with Vice President Pedro Alliana on Friday.
The ousted leader—who owned shares in a group that controlled Ueno until he sold them last year—is now behind bars after being charged on Saturday with “breach of trust and mismanagement for personal gain.”
The Central Bank of Paraguay began restoring deposits through a guarantee fund on Thursday, and by Saturday had returned about $160 million to nearly 1.2 million people.
Firefighters have seen no reprieve, however, as the guarantee fund covers up to $36,000 per account—a fraction of their balance.
It is an agonizing wait now for the Central Bank to finish liquidating Ueno’s assets, with zero guarantee that the outcome will fully restore firefighting accounts.
