Asunción, Jan 20 (EFE).- Former President Fernando Lugo’s lawyer defended this Friday the candidacy of the left-wing leader for the Paraguayan Senate, after an official legislator threatened to challenge him due to the “probable falsification” of the politician’s signature, who is recovering in Argentina from a stroke he suffered last August.
In statements to ABC Cardinal radio, lawyer Marcos Fariña indicated that Lugo’s registration as head of the list of Senate aspirants by the leftist alliance Frente Guasu Ñemongeta (AFGÑ) “meets all the legal, legal and formal requirements” set by the Paraguayan legislation.
“We have the candidacy ratification form, which Senator Lugo has signed in the presence of a notary public who has corroborated said act,” said the jurist, who indicated that this documentation is already in the offices of the Superior Court of Electoral Justice (TSJE).
The lawyer reported that the evolution of Lugo, 71, “is really surprising”, although he admitted that “there is still a small problem” with his voice due to a tracheotomy to which he was subjected.
The former president suffered a stroke in August 2022 associated with hemorrhage from a congenital arteriovenous malformation. He was transferred on September 7 of last year to Argentina, where he continues his recovery process at the Fleni clinic.
Fariña argued that the clinic where the leader is hospitalized “restricts the publication of photos and videos,” but assured that they have requested authorization to record some videos that give “tranquility” to the electorate.
Lugo’s lawyer spoke after Senator Martín Arévalo, of the ruling Colorado Party, requested on his Twitter account the intervention “ex officio” of the Public Ministry, “before a probable forgery of the signature” of Lugo.
Arévalo denounced an alleged deception and indicated in his trill that “Lugo was not in a position to sign a document.”
Consulted by EFE, Arévalo explained that he is “exerting strong pressure” on his party’s representatives to file a challenge.
“I do not think he is in a position to sign a document, nor to speak normally,” added the legislator.
In this context, he indicated that he will request a medical examination to verify that the former ruler “is really in physical and mental condition to be a candidate.”
Lugo, whose electoral triumph in 2008 put an end to 61 years of hegemony of the Colorado Party, received since September 1 of last year a leave of absence from his position as senator.