Brazil’s Bolsonaro hospitalized in Florida with ‘severe’ abdominal pain: reports

Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to an Orlando, Fla., hospital due to abdominal pain, according to reports, while his country reels from violent protest that saw his supporters storm multiple government buildings in the capital city of Brasília.

Bolsonaro has faced health problems since being stabbed while campaigning for president in 2018. He has endured a string of hospital visits in the last few years, including in early 2022 when he was also hospitalized for abdominal pain. 

Bolsonaro traveled to the U.S. two days before his left-wing rival and incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office, according to Reuters. He has refused to concede to Lula since his loss in the October election and has long questioned the integrity of Brazil’s elections.

He faces a number of investigations in Brazil stemming from his time in office, and following the riots from his supporters, U.S. lawmakers have begun to call for him to be returned to Brazil.

The news of his hospitalization was first reported by Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

Protests by his hardcore supporters over the weekend saw people breach the Congress and Supreme Court as well as the presidential palace, prompting the U.S. Embassy to warn American citizens to avoid the area.

The riots took place one week after Lula’s inauguration and just over two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in the U.S.

Mass arrests were reported in the aftermath of the protests. The country’s Supreme Court has reportedly suspended the governor of the district that includes Brasília for 90 days.

American lawmakers have come out to condemn the demonstrations. President Biden said in a joint statement with Mexican and Canadian leaders that the protests were “attacks on Brazil’s democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said on Twitter that the U.S. must stop “granting refuge to Bolsonaro” as he remains in Florida.

Lula said the protests were the “acts of vandals and fascists.”