Asunción, Mar 2 (EFE).- Former Paraguayan President and Senator Fernando Lugo reappeared virtually this Thursday in the first session of the year of the Paraguayan Senate after seven months of absence, since he suffered a stroke in August last year.
The former president connected through a video call from a clinic in Argentina, where he is undergoing treatment, and briefly greeted his fellow legislators through a gesture with his left hand.
Lugo, who heads the list of candidates for the Senate for the leftist alliance Guasu-Ñemongeta (AFGÑ) for the elections on April 30, activated his camera for just a few seconds and smiled during a speech by Senator Esperanza Martínez, who was Minister of Health and Social Welfare during the mandate of the leftist leader.
“Very good morning to everyone, especially a welcome to Senator Lugo, very happy to see him with us again. Hopefully he will soon be back in Paraguay to have him close. So a big hug Fernando and a lot of strength, ”said Martínez at the beginning of his intervention in the Upper House.
The 71-year-old legislator did not speak during the session, although he later sent a message through his social networks in which he thanked the “support and solidarity” he has received since he was admitted.
“Very happy to be able to resume my participation in the Senate sessions today. My thanks to all my compatriots and to all the people who have shown me their support and solidarity throughout this time. My commitment always and total with our Paraguayan people”, reads the publication.
In the photographs he shared, he can be seen together with fellow legislator Miguel Fulgencio Rodríguez.
The former ruler (2008-2012) suffered a stroke in August 2022, associated with hemorrhage from a congenital arteriovenous malformation, and was transferred to Argentina on September 7 of last year.
On January 20, the senator’s lawyer, Marcos Fariña, defended Lugo’s candidacy for the Senate, after a pro-government legislator threatened to challenge it due to the “probable forgery” of the leftist leader’s signature.
Fariña then declared to local media that the registration of Lugo as head of the list of candidates for the AFGÑ Senate “meets all the legal, juridical and formal requirements” established by Paraguayan legislation.
