The Brazilian president was on vacation in the south of the country, when he had to urgently reach a healthcare establishment. Jair Bolsonaro, 66, was hospitalized early Monday morning in Sao Paulo because of a probable new intestinal obstruction, several media reported, including TV Globo.
The presidency announced the admission of the Head of State to the Paulista Hospital of Nova Star for “various examinations” due to “abdominal pain”. “The president is well and is being treated,” continues a brief official statement pending the publication of a medical bulletin. It is not clear whether Jair Bolsonaro needs surgery. The hospital for its part declared that Bolsonaro is “in a stable condition” and that he was admitted for a suspected “intestinal sub-occlusive”.
Since an attempted murder with a knife in the middle of an election campaign in September 2018, Jair Bolsonaro, stabbed in the middle of the crowd by an individual with vague motives, has undergone half a dozen operations on the abdomen. The last one took place in July 2021, in the private hospital of Vila Nova Star where he is once more this Monday. He was close to death during the attack that targeted him.
A controversial holiday
During the summer, the far-right head of state in office since 2019 went to a military medical establishment in the capital Brasilia due to chronic hiccups. He was transferred to Vila Nova Sar and stayed there for four days. His hospitalization was decided following he complained of abdominal pain.
Antonio Luiz Macedo, the surgeon who has previously operated on the president’s abdomen, told the UOL news site that Jair Bolsonaro would undergo various examinations, including a tomography, a medical imaging technique.
The daily O Globo assures us that Bolsonaro was forced to “interrupt” his very controversial vacation in the state of Santa Catarina, where he arrived with his family on December 27. He wanted to continue his holidays at sea until the end to then go to the State of Bahia, stricken by deadly floods at the end of the year. Images of the president strolling on the beach, in an amusement park, or jet-skiing created controversy in Brazil following the deadly rains in Bahia which affected more than 470,000 people and prompted 136 localities to declare the ’emergency state.