Teachers in Paraguay take to the streets over pension funds frozen in Ueno Bank

Public school teachers in Paraguay took to the streets of Asunción and the main cities of the country's 17 departments on Monday to demand the return of pension funds deposited in Ueno Bank, which was placed under intervention over insolvency.

The Federation of Educators of Paraguay (FEP) is demanding “the guarantee and full return of the 60 million dollars of the fiscal fund,” the public retirement system, whose resources were frozen in the bank. The union is also demanding the recovery of nearly 355 million dollars from the Social Security Institute (IPS), which manages the pensions and health care of most workers.

The protest, with classes suspended in public schools, is the first faced by Paraguay's new president, Pedro Alliana, who took office on Friday after Santiago Peña was removed in an impeachment trial amid the bank crisis.

Paraguay's Central Bank ordered the resolution of Ueno Bank on November 3, after finding that its solvency ratio had fallen below the required minimum. The bank had about 2.94 million customers. Teachers are also asking for an 8% pay raise and more funding for education in 2027. On Sunday, prosecutors searched one of Peña's summer homes as part of the investigation into the case.

Photo: EFE

Source: EFE