Uruguay: “Pepe” Mujica undergoes emergency surgery for a thorn stuck in his esophagus

MONTEVIDEO.- Former Uruguayan President José “Pepe” Mujica had to be hospitalized urgently in a private sanatorium and He will be operated on this evening for a domestic accident: doctors assure that the case is not serious, but because of his age and that he cannot be vaccinated against the coronavirus Due to an illness that has lasted for years, the medical institution is taking the greatest precautions.

It was found that His wife, Senator Lucía Topolansky, had cooked a fish dish on Tuesday and Mujica swallowed a thorn stuck in his esophagus, making it difficult to breathe.. Interned at the Assistance Center of the Uruguayan Medical Union, the operation is prepared for tonight, to remove the thorn.

In less than a month, Mujica will be 86 years old and due to the pandemic he is being held at his farm on the outskirts of Montevideo. “I can’t see anyone because of a weak immune system”he commented weeks ago.

The Argentine government bestowed on him the highest state honor, but due to these problems, the award ceremony could not take place.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Mujica was a member of the left-wing guerrilla movement National Liberation Movement-Tupamaros, and was imprisoned for over 12 years. During the last period, he was deputy, senator, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries between 2005 and 2008 and President of the Republic between 2010 and 2015. In the spring of 2020, he took up his post. retired from the Senate to rest at home, although he remained active in leading his party movement.

Since 1985, she has lived with Lucía Topolansky, also a former guerrilla and leader of MLN-T, of which she is senator and vice-president of Uruguay between 2017 and 2020.

Doctors prepare for the procedure, which is okay, but they take extreme care to avoid further complications.