Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in intensive care on Tuesday recovering from emergency surgery to remove a bleed on his brain connected with a fall at home in October.
The 79-year-old leftwing leader, known as Lula, underwent a craniotomy procedure to drain a haematoma after an MRI scan showed an “intracranial haemorrhage”, according to a medical note shared by his government. Lula was “well” and being monitored at the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo after the operation, which was completed without complications, said the medical bulletin. It said the injury was linked to a fall in his bathroom on October 19th.
There was no current expectation that the president would take formal leave from his role, said Brazil’s social communications minister, Paulo Pimenta. Even so, the episode will raise questions about Lula’s state of health and whether he will stand for re-election when Brazil next chooses its president in 2026. Doctors looking after the president told reporters he was stable, talking and eating following surgery, but would remain in the intensive care unit for the next 48 hours as a precaution.
Cardiologist Dr Roberto Kalil said there was no brain damage and that Lula’s neurological functions were intact. “If all goes well, as it is, he should return to Brasília at the beginning of next week,” he added. Lula had sought medical attention in Brasília on Monday evening after suffering headaches, then flew to São Paulo at about 10pm for further treatment, an administration official said. He was conscious upon arrival for surgery, according to doctors.
‘We need Macron to act.’ The view in Mayotte, the French island territory steamrolled by cyclone Chido
Gisèle Pelicot has rewritten her story – and electrified women all over the world. But what about men?
Berlin culture cuts described as ‘death knell’ for city’s future
‘Shame has changed sides’: Supporters thank Gisèle Pelicot for her bravery as mass rape trial ends
Vice-president Geraldo Alckmin would assume Lula’s place on Tuesday at a meeting with Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico in Brasília, Mr Alckmin’s office said. A one-time political foe who Lula defeated in the 2006 presidential election, Mr Alckmin is seen as business-friendly and twice served as governor of São Paulo state. He also heads the ministry of development, industry and trade.
Lula, a former metalworker and union leader, was Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2011 and has previously survived cancer. He spent more than a year and a half in jail until 2019 on corruption convictions that were subsequently overturned, opening the door to his political comeback. Lula narrowly defeated hard-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a 2022 election. Since returning to office for a third term at the start of last year, Lula has had a busy travel agenda. But he skipped a Brics summit in Russia following the October accident, which left him requiring several stitches.
He has made just one international trip since then, travelling to Uruguay last week for a Mercosur summit at which the bloc of South American nations announced a trade deal with the EU. Lula’s surgery comes at a challenging moment for his presidency, as he pursues pledges to raise welfare spending and expand the role of the state in a drive to boost living standards in Latin America’s largest economy. Investors have expressed rising concerns over the administration’s tax-and-spend fiscal policy, despite its promises to eliminate the primary budget deficit, meaning before interest payments.
The Brazilian real hit an all-time low last month, falling below six to the US dollar, amid worries over the country’s public finances. A police investigation last month claimed that rightwing coup plotters, including elite military personnel, had planned to assassinate Lula, Mr Alckmin and a top supreme court judge before the 2022 transfer of power. However, the alleged scheme was ultimately aborted. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024