Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was transferred to intensive care in Brasilia on Friday after his kidney function deteriorated, though doctors say his pneumonia has stabilized. The 70-year-old ex-leader is serving a 27-year sentence for leading a coup attempt in 2023.
Bolsonaro was sent to DF Star Hospital from the prison where he is serving his sentence. The hospital said in a statement that he has had an increase in inflammatory markers since treatment began. He was admitted after experiencing high fever, low oxygen, sweating and chills. Exams confirmed bronchopneumonia, a type of pneumonia, likely caused by aspiration.
The former president, who governed between 2019-22, has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election. One of his sons, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, is expected to run for president later this year against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“Unfortunately we have to learn how to live with this. It is not the first, the second or the third time my father is hospitalized because of the problems coming from the stabbing,” Flávio Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia. “He is stable, he did not improve, but he is stable.”
Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Relatives have repeatedly asked Brazil’s Supreme Court to allow him to carry out his sentence under house arrest, claiming he has received insufficient medical attention. He was transferred from the local federal police headquarters to a larger cell in January.
The health crisis adds a new chapter to the polarized political landscape in Brazil, where Bolsonaro remains a divisive figure. His hospitalization comes as his son prepares to challenge President Lula in this year’s election, setting up a high-stakes political contest with national implications.