Brazil's President Bolsonaro Rushed To Hospital Due To Intestinal Blockage, Medical Officials: His Condition Is Stable

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro while being treated in hospital. (Twitter/@jairbolsonaro)

JAKARTA - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized on Monday with an intestinal blockage, requiring surgery in the latest complication of a 2018 stabbing.

President Bolsonaro said he started feeling unwell on Sunday afternoon, after lunch and doctors had inserted a nasogastric tube. Medical officials described his condition as stable and improving.

"Further tests will be carried out for a potential operation on an internal obstruction in the abdominal area," Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter, along with a photo of him brandishing a thumbs up in a hospital bed.

President Bolsonaro said this was the second hospitalization "with the same symptoms" since he was stabbed during a September 2018 campaign event and underwent a series of emergency surgeries.

The Vila Nova Star hospital confirmed in medical records that President Bolsonaro was admitted to hospital in the early hours of Monday with an intestinal obstruction.

"He is in stable condition, undergoing treatment. At this time, there is no estimate that he will be discharged," explained the hospital.

In a separate statement in the evening, the Vila Nova Star said President Bolsonaro was improving and he had taken a short walk in the hallway. The hospital added that he was not suffering from symptoms such as fever or stomach pain, but it was not clear whether he needed to undergo surgery or not.

Separately, TV network Globo showed images of Bolsonaro, who was on vacation in the southern state of Santa Catarina, walking down the steps of the presidential plane after landing in Sao Paulo at around 1:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT).

To note, in July 2021, President Bolsonaro was taken to the Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo, due to an intestinal blockage after suffering from chronic hiccups.

President Bolsonaro, a far-right Liberal politician who took office last year, plans to run for president again in a vote scheduled for October this year.