Santiago Peña Palacios (; born 16 November 1978) is a Paraguayan politician and economist who is the president-elect of Paraguay following the 2023 general election. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the

Central Bank of Paraguay The Central Bank of Paraguay ( es, Banco Central del Paraguay) is Paraguay's highest monetary authority, and the country's governing body, in finances and economics. Its headquarters are in Asunción's Carmelitas neighbourhood. The institution ...

, and former

Minister of Finance of Paraguay Minister of Finance is the person in charge of the Ministry of Finance of Paraguay. Ministers *José de Elizalde, 1811-1814 *Francisco Díaz de Bedoya, 1814-1819 *José Gabriel Benítez, 1819-1827 *Juan Manuel Álvarez (politician), Juan Manuel � ...

. He previously stood as a candidate in the Colorado Party's presidential primary in 2018, where he lost to

Mario Abdo Benítez Mario Abdo Benítez (; born 10 November 1971) is a Paraguayan politician who has served as the president of Paraguay since 2018. He was previously a senator and President of the Senate. Early life and education Abdo Benítez was born in Asun ...

, who went on to be elected president in the 2018 general election. Peña was a member of the

Authentic Radical Liberal Party The Authentic Radical Liberal Party ( es, Partido Liberal Radical Auténtico or ''PLRA'') is a centrist liberal political party in Paraguay. The party is a full member of Liberal International. The ''liberales'', as they are known, are the leadi ...

between 1996 and 2016, when he joined the Colorado Party. In addition to his political career, Peña has served on leadership boards for the Central Bank of Paraguay and Banco Amambay. He has also taught economics at the Catholic University of Asunción, and has published research papers on monetary policy and finance.

Education

Peña holds graduate degrees from Universidad Católica "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" (2001) and the

School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University The School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (SIPA) is the List of schools of international relations in the United States, international affairs and public policy school, public policy school of Columbia University, a pri ...

(2003).

Economic career

Peña joined the Industrial Development Fund as an analyst in 1999 and served as an economist at the

from 2000 to 2009. In 2004, Peña taught as an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of Asunción, teaching financial theory. In 2005, he became a professor of economic policy at the same establishment. Following his defeat in the Colorado Party's internal elections in 2017, Peña was elected to the board of Banco Amambay in March 2018. The bank was part of the Cartes Group, which was owned by former President of Paraguay

Horacio Cartes Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara (born 5 July 1956) is a Paraguayan businessman and politician who served as the president of Paraguay from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the Colorado Party. Cartes owns about two dozen businesses in his Grupo Cart ...

, for whom Peña had served as minister of finance.

Early political career

Joining the Colorado Party

Peña joined the Colorado Party on 29 October 2016, having previously been a member of the

(PLRA) from the age of 17. Peña's membership in the Colorado Party caused controversy, with reports that he only joined the party after Horacio Cartes announced his intention to dismiss members of his cabinet who were not party members. Peña released a statement stating he had joined the party due to its focus on developing Paraguay, and claimed to be the descendent of one of the party's founders, Jaime Peña. Following this, an electoral court annulled Peña's membership to the PLRA.

Colorado Party internal elections

In 2017, Peña ran unsuccessfully to be the Colorado Party's presidential candidate in the 2018 general election, ultimately gaining 482,649 votes to

's 567,592 votes. In 2022, Peña ran successfully to stand as the Colorado Party's presidential candidate; he was widely seen as the candidate most closely aligned to former president Cartes, while his opponent, Arnoldo Wiens, was aligned with Abdo Benítez.

Political views as of presidential elections

By the time of the 2023 election, Peña was considered a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician who opposes the legalization of

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

; however, in May 2017 Peña stated that he was in favor of same-sex marriage while saying in regards of abortion that he was open for it to "be discussed in a sincere environment and without prejudice", before reversing position following criticism from conservative sectors. During his 2023 campaign, he promised to create 500,000 jobs, but did not specify how. He also refuses to raise taxes, despite Paraguay "having an underfunded state and the lowest tax burden in South America, which greatly benefits society's wealthiest", according to ''The Guardian.''

Presidency

Peña was elected

President of Paraguay The president of Paraguay ( es, Presidente del Paraguay), officially known as the President of the Republic of Paraguay ( es, Presidente de la República del Paraguay), is according to the Constitution of Paraguay the head of the executive bran ...

, after winning 43.9% of the vote in the 2023 general election in April. He was congratulated by outgoing president

, and presidents

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...

of Brazil and

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer and professor, serving as president of Argentina since 2019. Born in Buenos Aires, Fernández attended the University of Buenos Aires, where he earned his law ...

of Argentina. Peña called for unity to address the economic challenges the country is currently facing. Peña will be inaugurated on 15 August 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Santiago 1978 births Living people People from Asunción Paraguayan Roman Catholics Authentic Radical Liberal Party politicians Colorado Party (Paraguay) politicians Finance Ministers of Paraguay Paraguayan economists