Conservative former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro was discharged on Sunday after spending three weeks recovering from a complex 12-hour surgery at the DF Star Hospital in Brasília.
Bolsonaro published a video of himself walking out of the hospital on Sunday in the company of his wife, former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro, as well as Dr. Claudio Birolini, who led the surgical team, and Dr. Leandro Echenique, a cardiologist. Bolsonaro greeted a group of his followers and media representatives who awaited him outside.
“Thank you very much to those who accompanied us, to those who prayed, to those who asked God,” Bolsonaro said.
Birolini told local outlets that Bolsonaro will have to continue eating soft foods and avoid crowds and intense physical activity over the next few days, stressing that visits to Bolsonaro’s residence in Brasília should be reduced.
“Fortunately everything went as expected and today we are here after 22 days in the hospital being discharged. He’s still in the recovery phase, and I hope he follows the instructions he’s been given and is careful for the next three or four weeks,” Birolini said.
Bolsonaro underwent a delicate, complex emergency surgical procedure in mid-April to treat an intestinal subocclusion, a condition stemming from past surgeries he endured following a failed assassination attempt in September 2018, when a man identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira stabbed Bolsonaro during a presidential campaign rally. De Oliveira, identified as a former registered member of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL), claimed that he was “commanded by God” to murder Bolsonaro.
The failed 2018 assassination attempt left Bolsonaro facing recurring health complications in subsequent years, leading to further hospitalizations and several surgeries. Bolsonaro’s medical team described April’s 12-hour surgical procedure as one of the “most complex” since the initial surgery after the assassination attempt.
Bolsonaro first announced his impending discharge in a social media post on Sunday morning in which he thanked God for “yet another miracle” and thanked Dr. Birolini and the medical team he led, asserting that he will return to his home “renewed.”
Bolsonaro further announced that he will resume his schedule by accompanying a peaceful Wednesday afternoon march calling for amnesty for the nearly 900 Brazilian men and women imprisoned for their participation in the January 8, 2023, riots. Shortly after Bolsonaro published his message, Birolini informed local outlets that the medical team recommended Bolsonaro not participate in the upcoming event.
“We have instructed the president not to participate directly in the act, in person, because that would not be recommended at this time,” Birolini said.
Similarly, cardiologist Leandro Echenique stressed that the recommendation to Bolsonaro is to avoid crowds, “not least because of the risk of infection. So it’s really going to be a week where he’ll be more protected.”
“May 7th at 4:00 pm [Brasília Standard Time]. Peaceful walk towards the National Congress. I will try to be present if the current health situation allows it. For Humanitarian Amnesty,” Bolsonaro said through a Sunday afternoon post.
Bolsonaro regularly updated the public with his progress from the hospital using his official accounts to publish photos taken during his surgery and videos of his recovery process at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Brasília’s DF Star Hospital.
In late April, Brazil’s top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) subpoenaed Bolsonaro while he was still in the ICU for an upcoming trial in which Bolsonaro stands accused of allegedly conspiring with dozens others to poison radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and stage a “coup” to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election, which Bolsonaro narrowly lost to Lula.
The STF justified issuing the subpoena by claiming that Bolsonaro “demonstrated the possibility of summoning him to present a defense” due to his participation in an April 22 livestream in the company of his sons. Hours after the subpoena was delivered, Bolsonaro’s health worsened. He experienced increased blood pressure and worsening of liver laboratory tests, according to his medical team. Bolsonaro’s health stabilized shortly afterwards and he was discharged from the ICU on Thursday.
Bolsonaro was participating in a pro-amnesty for supporters event in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in April when he began experiencing severe abdominal pain, leading to his hospitalization and urgent emergency transfer to Brasilia. CNN Brasil reported that Bolsonaro intends to resume his travel itinerary in June, starting with another visit to Rio Grande do Norte.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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