Brazil’s Bolsonaro hospitalized in Brasilia

SAO PAULO

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized Wednesday for medical tests, according to the president’s press advisor.

The far-right South American leader has been suffering from a bout of hiccups for 11 days and his office said he was admitted to the Brasilia’s Armed Forces Hospital with abdominal pain.

“Following medical advice, the president will be under observation for 24 to 48 hours, not necessarily in the hospital,” said a statement released by the Presidency’s Special Secretariat for Social Communication. “He is cheerful and feeling well.”

It is unclear whether Bolsonaro will undergo postponed surgery to correct an abdominal hernia.

The president has to undergo what would be his seventh operation since he suffered a knife attack in 2018 during the election campaign.

Bolsonaro had a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with Brazil’s Legislative and Judiciary leaders.

The meeting was canceled due to his hospitalization. It was said to seek to establish guidelines to guarantee the stability of democracy.

Bolsonaro has attacked the judiciary in recent weeks, in addition to questioning the electoral system ahead of the 2022 elections.

He has also criticized the Senate’s probe into the coronavirus pandemic management by his administration.

Before the government confirmed Bolsonaro’s hospitalization, the Supreme Court had already announced the meeting’s cancelation, without giving any reasons.

The Court only said the meeting would be “opportunely rescheduled.”

The office of Senate Speaker Rodrigo Pacheco also said that “all meetings were canceled.”