Deposed, Lugo and family lose health assistance.
The former president of Paraguay still needs to undergo treatment for lymphatic cancer, estimated at around US$12. Upon being informed of the impeachment, his brother Pompeyo Lugo suffered a heart attack.
247 – Former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo will have his security guaranteed by the state, however, he has lost access to healthcare. Suffering from cancer, he needs to continue treatment begun in Brazil. During his presidency, he used resources from a fund estimated at US$500 intended for the health of heads of state; a salary of US$4.500 and another US$3 for representation expenses. Read more in the Globo article:
BUENOS AIRES — The unexpected removal from power of Fernando Lugo has already caused serious health problems in his family and will force the former Paraguayan president to continue treatment for lymphatic cancer, initially without state assistance. Upon being informed of the impeachment last Friday, Pompeyo Lugo, the former head of state's brother, suffered a heart attack and remained hospitalized at the Lacosta clinic in Asunción as of Monday.
According to what the former president's personal physician, Alfredo Boccia Paz, confirmed to GLOBO, Lugo still has to undergo three treatments by the end of this year, at an estimated cost of around US$12.
"He's doing well, with complete remission and a good prognosis. But he's still in the treatment phase," explained Boccia Paz, who was monitoring the case.
Lugo made almost all his trips to Brazil to undergo examinations and procedures at the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in São Paulo.
According to the Paraguayan doctor, Lugo receives a special medication every two months, called a monoclonal antibody, which can be administered at any hospital in Asunción and is not expensive.
The last dose will be in December, when we complete two years of treatment.
During his tenure, the president used resources from a fund estimated at US$500 intended for the health of heads of state; a salary of US$4.500 and another US$3 for representation expenses.
The new president, Federico Franco, assured that Lugo would continue to have state security. But nothing was said about healthcare expenses: in theory, since he was removed from office, he lost the right to a pension and also to become a senator for life, like all former presidents of the country. Until now, the former bishop has relied on state funds and also on the solidarity of former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who made the contact between Lugo and the medical team at the Sírio-Libanês hospital.
"Lugo completed 50% of his treatment in Brazil, but the remainder can be done in Paraguay," Boccia Paz stated.