Mensajepor Mr_Baca » Mié Ene 04, 2012 10:02 am
DJ Argentina President Kirchner Undergoes Surgery For Thyroid Cancer
04-Ene-2012
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--Argentina President Cristina Kirchner underwent surgery on Wednesday to remove a cancerous growth on her thyroid gland, temporarily handing the reigns of government to Vice President Amado Boudou for three weeks.
Local television stations TN and C5N reported that the operation started shortly after 6 a.m. EST. Hundreds of young supporters gathered outside the Hospital Austral on the outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires in a show of solidarity for the president.
Boudou, who served as Kirchner's economy minister during her first term, will hold the presidency until Jan. 24.
Last week, presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said Kirchner was scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a papillary thyroid carcinoma on Jan. 4 followed by about 23 days of rest.
The cancer, which hasn't metastasized and has a high survival rate, was discovered during a routine medical examination on Dec. 22.
The Kirchner administration opted for full disclosure in communicating the president's illness, breaking with the traditional veil of secrecy surrounding the issue of presidential health.
Argentina's political landscape was turned on its head when Kirchner's husband and key adviser, former President Nestor Kirchner, died of a sudden heart attack in October 2010. Though Nestor Kirchner had made several emergency hospital visits, the administration said very little about the true extent of his health problems.
Kirchner's absence coincides with Argentina's summer vacations, which traditionally mark a lull in political activity until Congress reconvenes in March.
The popular 58-year-old widow has amassed considerable political power in a country where the executive branch of government already enjoys broad powers to tax and spend without the prevue of Congress.
Kirchner, who was sworn in for a second term Dec. 10, won re-election with 54% of the vote last October in the most decisive electoral victory since the country's return to democracy in 1983.
Her leftist faction of the ruling Peronist Party and its allies also control Congress after a strong showing in the election as well as nearly all of Argentina's 23 provincial governorships.
Voters have rewarded Kirchner and her Frente Para la Victoria coalition for the years of economic prosperity and political stability they have enjoyed in a country long accustomed to deep financial and political crisis.
The economy, which likely grew about 9% for a second straight year in 2011 on the back of a consumer spending spree and booming exports of grains and manufactured goods, is expected to grow between 4.5% and 7.5% this year, according to the central bank.