BRASÍLIA (AFP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from hospital yesterday, having spent the night at a military clinic in Brasilia after feeling unwell, the country’s Communications Minister said.
“The President has already been discharged and is doing very well,” Communications Minister Fabio Faria tweeted.
The 67-year-old president, who has had recurring health problems since being stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 presidential campaign, was admitted on Monday night to undergo tests, said federal lawmaker Marcos Pereira at an event the president had been expected to attend.
“I’m sure the president is fine,” Pereira said, cited by local media. “It’s just some extra tests he’s doing.” First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who attended the event, also said her husband was “fine”.
Due to the stab wound, the far-right leader has undergone at least four surgeries, including the placement and subsequent removal of a colostomy bag, which made him prone to intestinal issues.
He has also undergone other unrelated procedures during his presidency, including surgery to remove a kidney stone.
The presidential communications office did not respond to AFP requests for information on the president’s health after he was admitted to hospital on Monday.
Bolsonaro, a Covid-19 sceptic who campaigned against quarantine measures because he believed them too damaging to the Brazilian economy and who reports that he is not vaccinated, contracted the virus in July 2020, coming down with mild symptoms.
The president is aiming for re-election next October, when he will most likely face off against leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
