Lima – The health of Peruvian former President Valentin Paniagua has shown “no change” in the past few hours after he suffered a “neurological setback” on the weekend, his personal physician, Luis Solari, announced here Sunday.
Solari, who served in the Cabinet of former President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), gave reporters the most recent daily report on Paniagua’s health.
Paniagua, who served as a transitional head of state in 2000-2001, underwent coronary surgery Wednesday night after suffering a heart attack.
Congressman Victor Andres Garcia Belaunde, the head of Paniagua’s Popular Action party, reported on Thursday that Paniagua had died. He made the announcement in Congress, where lawmakers even observed a minute of silence to honor the man they believed to be deceased.
The report of Paniagua’s death was quickly denied by Solari and by the former president’s family members, and a very embarrassed Belaunde apologized, blaming his erroneous announcement on bad information provided to him by his advisors.
Belaunde, however, has come under heavy criticism for the mistaken death announcement and it is possible that he may resign as party leader.
Solari said Sunday that the family had decided to stop providing information on Paniagua’s condition to the press, falling back on his right to privacy.
He said that the determination to restrict further news about the former president’s health was shared by Paniagua’s other doctors and would only be changed if it were considered “indispensable.”
Solari thanked – in the name of the family – Peruvians for the “esteem, love and dedication” they had shown for Paniagua.
The 70-year-old Paniagua ran in this year’s presidential election won by Alan Garcia. He governed Peru for eight months during the transition that followed the resignation of President Alberto Fujimori.
