Former Vice President Amado Boudou (2011-2015) is recovering in hospital after suddenly falling ill while giving a conference at the National University of Comahue, in Neuquén. Boudou was hospitalized in the Castro Rendón Hospital, where he is “stable,” sources close to him said.

At the request of his family, the economist will be transferred from Neuquén to the Italian Hospital in Buenos Aires on a medical plane.

The director of the Castro Rendón Hospital, Adrián Lammel, confirmed to the LM Neuquén newspaper that Boudou’s transfer is scheduled for this afternoon. “He is stable and spent the night well,” he added.

Sources close to the economist said that “he suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA) that was contained following treatment”.

A TIA is a stroke that lasts for only a few minutes. It occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is briefly interrupted.

“It was just a scare! We send him all the activist strength and love we have received for our dear Amado,” tweeted Soberanxs, Boudou’s political organization.

El amigo y compañero Amado Boudou está recuperándose bien luego de una descompensación que tuvo mientras daba una charla en Neuquen. Sólo un susto!! Le mandamos la fuerza y el cariño de la militancia que recibimos en tránsito a nuestro querido Amado. pic.twitter.com/HvyltFitnu

— Soberanxs (@soberanxs) May 13, 2023

Boudou had to interrupt the conference when he began to feel unwell and had to be taken to the hospital, a police spokesperson told Télam. He did not require assistance and was able to arrive on his own.

Sources close to the former vice president said that he underwent a CAT scan. His wife and mother of his two children, Mónica García de la Fuente, will travel to Neuquén today.

Boudou played high-profile roles during both Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s presidential terms. In 2008, he was appointed head of Argentina’s National Social Security Administration (ANSES, by its Spanish acronym). During his tenure, retirement and pension funds were nationalized.

He served as Kirchner’s Economy Minister from 2009-2011 before becoming Vice President for her second term.

In 2018, he was sentenced to a 5 year-10 month prison sentence and barred for life from holding public office, for corruption. Since the investigation began, Boudou has always denied the charges.

-Télam/Herald

(Updated at 2.40 pm to add details of Boudou’s transfer to Italian Hospital)