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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in intensive care recovering from surgery to remove a bleed on his brain connected to a fall in October, the government said on Tuesday.
The 79-year-old, known as Lula, underwent a craniotomy procedure to drain a haematoma on his head after an MRI scan showed an “intracranial haemorrhage”, according to a medical note shared by the government.
Lula had sought medical attention in Brasília on Monday evening after suffering headaches, then flew to São Paulo at about 10pm for further treatment, a government official told the Financial Times.
The injury was linked to a fall in his bathroom at home on October 19, according to the medical bulletin, after which he had to have several stitches. Following “uneventful” surgery, Lula was “well” and being monitored in intensive care at the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo, it said. Doctors will hold a press conference at 9am local time on Tuesday.
Following the accident Lula cancelled his attendance at the Brics summit in Russia, in October.
The former metalworker and union leader, who was Brazil’s president between 2003 and 2011, has previously survived cancer.
He spent more than a year and a half in jail until 2019 on corruption convictions that were subsequently overturned, opening the door to his political comeback. Lula narrowly defeated hard-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a 2022 election.
Since returning to power for a third term at the start of last year, Lula has pursued a busy travel agenda. But he has made just one international trip since his October fall, travelling to Uruguay last week for a Mercosur summit at which the bloc of South American nations announced a trade deal with the EU after long-running negotiations.
Lula’s surgery comes at a challenging moment for his presidency, as he pursues pledges to lift welfare spending and expand the role of the state in a drive to boost living standards in Latin America’s largest economy.
Investors have expressed rising concerns over the administration’s tax-and-spend fiscal policy, despite its promises to eliminate the primary budget deficit, meaning before interest payments.
The Brazilian real hit an all-time low last month, falling below six to the US dollar, because of mounting concerns over the country’s public finances. On Tuesday it was flat in early trading at 6.08 per US dollar.
In the event of Lula’s absence from presidential duties or overseas travel, the role passes to vice-president Geraldo Alckmin.
A former political foe who Lula defeated in the 2006 presidential election, Alckmin, who is seen as business-friendly, twice served as governor of São Paulo state. He also heads the ministry of development, industry and trade.
