Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro taken to hospital

Far-right leader may require surgery to treat intestinal blockage after feeling unwell on Sunday

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was urgently hospitalised. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was urgently hospitalised. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalised on Monday with an intestinal blockage and may need to undergo surgery in the latest complication from a 2018 stabbing.

Mr Bolsonaro said he started feeling unwell on Sunday afternoon after lunch and doctors have inserted a nasogastric tube.

“More tests will be conducted for a potential surgery on an internal obstruction in the abdominal region,” Mr Bolsonaro posted on Twitter, along with a photograph of himself giving a thumbs-up in his hospital bed.

Mr Bolsonaro said it was the second hospitalisation "with the same symptoms" since he was stabbed https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-election-bolsonaro-idUSKCN1LM2YJ during a September 2018 campaign event and underwent a series of emergency operations.

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Vila Nova Star hospital confirmed in a medical note that Mr Bolsonaro had been admitted to the hospital in the early hours of Monday with an intestinal blockage.

“He is in stable condition, undergoing treatment and will be re-evaluated this morning by Dr Antonio Luiz de Vasconcellos Macedo’s team. At the moment, there is no forecast for him being discharged,” it said.

TV network Globo showed images of Mr Bolsonaro, who had been holidaying in the southern state of Santa Catarina, walking down the stairs of the presidential plane after landing in São Paulo at around 1.30am local time.

In July 2021, he was taken to the Vila Nova Star hospital in São Paulo due to an intestinal blockage after suffering from chronic hiccups.

The far-right Mr Bolsonaro has been in power since 2019 and plans to stand for re-election as president in a vote scheduled for October this year. – Reuters