Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 13, 2021. (ERALDO PERES / AP)
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to the hospital for exams with abdominal pain after more than 10 days of hiccups.
Bolsonaro is in good spirits and doing well, the presidency’s press office wrote in a statement. He will remain under medical observation for a period of 24 to 48 hours to investigate the cause of persistent hiccups, though not necessarily in the hospital. A person familiar with the president’s situation said he complained about pain in the abdomen before being taken for exams.
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro is in good spirits and doing well, the presidency’s press office wrote in a statement
The hiccups could be associated to medication Bolsonaro has taken after a recent tooth implant or esophagus irritation following a series of abdomen surgeries he was submitted to since his stabbing during the campaign trail in 2018, according to medical experts.
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Bolsonaro said in April he’s supposed to undergo another procedure to treat a hernia developing at the site of the operations.
Bolsonaro’s office confirmed his entire agenda was canceled, including his visit to the Supreme Court where he would meet with top Justice Luiz Fux, Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira and Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco, amid rising tension between the three branches of government.
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The meeting’s goal was to set “solid basis for Brazil’s democracy, and stability for the political regime,” according to Fux, and followed Bolsonaro’s repeated and unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud.
