Do we like them?

Do we like Santiago Peña?

Our score: 3 out of 10. Economic wins and a Comptroller finding in his favour sit against a reported anti-gender agenda, an NGO law and wealth allegations still open.

Peña is an economist who rose through the orbit of former president Horacio Cartes, serving as his finance minister before winning the presidency in 2023. Critics have long cast him as Cartes's man, and Peña has pushed back hard on the sanctions the US placed on his mentor, with one headline quoting him calling them based on lies.

The big stoush at home is about money. In October 2025 opposition legislators filed a criminal complaint alleging illicit enrichment, money laundering and influence peddling, citing a technical study and a former residence employee's account of cash-filled envelopes. These are accusations from his opponents, not established facts, and the ABC Color article carried no response from him.

Then came the paperwork. ABC Color reported in May 2026 that Peña amended his sworn asset declarations in April while the Comptroller was examining them, including the value of a San Bernardino house and several omitted assets. The Comptroller concluded his wealth tracks his income and did not sanction him. Peña described the omitted assets as having full traceability, though the paper argued the timing didn't look like voluntary transparency.

He also signed in the regulation of a law controlling NGOs in October 2025. The Inter-American Commission's free-expression rapporteur said it would hinder nonprofits, and one jurist said it targets watchdog groups. Supporters call it transparency, and where you land depends on whether you read it as accountability or as squeezing dissent.

On foreign policy, Peña dined with Donald Trump in Paris in December 2024 and said Trump sees Paraguay as a great ally. He also confirmed Paraguay would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Both are contested politics, so it's the company he keeps rather than proof of harm.

The real good here is economic. Moody's upgraded Paraguay to investment grade in July 2024 during his presidency, which matters for jobs and borrowing costs. Beyond that, I found no verified charity or personal kindness, and that's honestly the whole list.