Bolsonaro will need new surgery, doctor says

Photo: Marcos Corrêa/PR

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will require new intestinal surgery upon returning to Brazil, his doctor confirmed on Wednesday.

Mr. Bolsonaro is currently in the U.S., having fled to Florida two days before the end of his term in December, seemingly to avoid passing on the presidential sash to his successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. O Globo newspaper cites sources close to Mr. Bolsonaro saying he is due to return to Brazil around the end of the month.

Antônio Luiz de Vasconcellos Macedo, the gastroenterologist who has accompanied Mr. Bolsonaro since he was stabbed on the campaign trail in 2018, said the former head of state would need to undergo surgery in São Paulo in February to avoid further complications to his intestine, Reuters reported.

The far-right leader has undergone several rounds of surgery as a result of the injuries he sustained after being stabbed by a mentally ill man over four years ago. He also periodically suffers from abdominal adhesions requiring hospital care, although his critics note that these often occur when the going gets tough politically.

Mr. Bolsonaro was last admitted to hospital for stomach pains in Orlando on January 9, one day after thousands of his supporters violently stormed government buildings in the Brazilian capital. He was discharged two days later.

At the time, Mr. Bolsonaro himself said that he would return to Brazil sooner than planned for health reasons. Democrat lawmakers have called for him to be extradited from the U.S. over his supposed responsibility in stoking the January 8 insurrection, while there is uncertainty over his status there, as he entered the country on a now invalid visa reserved for heads of state.

Back in Brazil, Mr. Bolsonaro faces at least six separate criminal investigations, for a variety of wrongs including spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court included the former president in its investigation into the funding and organization of the January 8 riots.