Argentine president's latest ailment fuels criticism and speculation

Rio de Janeiro: Argentina's political system was hit by uncertainty Sunday after the disclosure that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had sustained a head injury more than seven weeks ago and was told by neurologists over the weekend to rest for a month while receiving treatment for chronic bleeding near her brain.

Kirchner, 60, remained in the presidential residence in Buenos Aires on Sunday after her spokesman, Alfredo Scoccimarro, revealed Saturday night that she suffered a "skull trauma" on Aug. 12. He said doctors had found an accumulation of blood between her brain and her skull after she complained of head pain during an exam Saturday for an abnormal heart rhythm.

The revelation of Kirchner's head injury, the latest in a series of health issues since her election as president in 2007, prompted declarations of support from various political figures in Argentina, as well as criticism from detractors over how the government has handled information about her health.

"Secrecy breeds suspicion," said Joaquin Morales Sola, a prominent political commentator, in a column in the newspaper La Nacion questioning why some details of her medical condition were being revealed now, nearly two months after an apparently serious injury, and what remains to be discovered about the president's health.

Morales Sola also raised doubts about Argentina's vice president, Amado Boudou, calling his appointment by the president "an error that now takes on a new dimension." Boudou, 50, is dealing with a judicial investigation on charges of illegal enrichment and money laundering and could be asked by Kirchner to assume presidential duties as she convalesces.

Still, it was not yet clear on Sunday whether Kirchner planned to formally transfer duties to Boudou, as she did for several weeks in 2012 when she was given an incorrect diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Scoccimarro, her spokesman, did not specify whether or how she planned to follow her doctors' advice.

"We have to see how this develops," said Sergio Berensztein, a political consultant in Buenos Aires, describing Boudou as "an isolated figure tainted by corruption allegations." If he steps in, Berensztein said, "it undoubtedly provokes uncertainty."

In addition to the cancer scare and the head injury, Kirchner's health problems while president have included a diagnosis of dehydration in 2009, causing her to postpone a trip to Cuba and Venezuela; low blood pressure on several occasions, requiring short periods of rest; and another head injury in June 2011, involving a fall and a wound to her scalp.

While details about her latest injury remained sparse, Télam, Argentina's official news agency, said the bleeding in Kirchner's head could be dealt with in a "very low-risk" operation, citing a neurosurgeon. Télam also said her diagnosis differed from that of a stroke, a serious medical condition in which the brain's blood supply is cut off.

The disclosure of Kirchner's injury was being absorbed in an acutely polarized political culture characterized by tension and insults between her government and her critics. Marcelo Blanco, 52, an antiques trader, said influential news media organizations at odds with Kirchner would seize on the situation.

"The media will try to magnify this, but even if her illness is long term, it won't stymie the continuation of the model," Blanco said, referring to "Kirchnerismo," the movement put in motion by Kirchner and her husband, Néstor Kirchner, who died in 2010.

"It's a strong and capable political movement that I'm sure will win in 2015," he added, referring to presidential elections in which Kirchner is not allowed by law to run.