Santiago Peña is sworn in as president of Paraguay after April election win

Santiago Peña, a former finance minister and candidate of the conservative Colorado Party, was inaugurated as president of Paraguay on 15 August 2023. He succeeded Mario Abdo Benítez, who had led the country since 2018.

Peña won the general election held on 30 April 2023, defeating Efraín Alegre, the candidate of an opposition alliance. The Colorado Party, which has dominated Paraguayan politics for most of the past seven decades, thus kept the presidency. Peña had campaigned on economic growth, attracting foreign investment and keeping close ties with Taiwan, one of the few states that Paraguay recognises over China.

His arrival in office mattered because it extended Colorado rule and put a technocrat with a banking and finance background at the head of the government. His term, set at five years, became the backdrop for later debates over the country's financial system and political stability.