President Jair Bolsonaro was flown to a hospital in Sao Paulo in the early hours of Monday, cutting short his beach vacation after suffering from abdominal pain.
Bolsonaro was admitted to the hospital to undergo clinical tests after feeling “abdominal discomfort,” his press office said in a note. The president had symptoms of intestinal obstruction, according to a statement signed by the doctor who has been treating him since he nearly died following his 2018 stabbing during the campaign trail.
“He is stable, receiving treatment and his health will be reassessed this morning,” the hospital statement read. “At the moment, there’s no date for his release.”
In a tweet, Bolsonaro said he started feeling ill on Sunday afternoon, and that more exams are being done to see if he needs surgery. His doctor, who is traveling, is expected to arrive at 3 p.m. local time, Bolsonaro said.
The president, who’s up for reelection this year, has undergone at least four surgeries related to the stabbing. In 2021, he was hospitalized with similar symptoms and later discharged after receiving treatment, and no surgical intervention was needed.
Bolsonaro, who was expected to return to Brasilia on Tuesday, has been criticized in the past few days for refusing to cut short his vacation even when heavy rains left the northern state of Bahia underwater, with thousands of people homeless.
