Brazil protest: Former President Jair Bolsonaro, who allegedly fueled riots amid violent demonstrations in Brazil’s national capital, was admitted to a Florida hospital on Monday with abdominal pain. According to Bolsonaro, he is battling an earlier wound he received during an election campaign in 2018.
Notably, Brazil is facing its worst political unrest since the defeat of the far-right leader in the last presidential elections. The situation worsened after his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was sworn in last week.
President Lula blames Bolsonaro for the current chaos
In a video message, the current President Lula directly blamed his predecessor for the current situation in the country and assured the countrymen that those responsible will be brought to justice. Earlier in a press conference and in a series of microblogging posts, President Lula accused the protesters of trying to “overthrow democracy”. Furthermore, he criticized the military for not taking appropriate action to discourage calls for a military coup outside their barracks.
Bolsonaro has been living in the US since October
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro, who has been living in the United States since his defeat in the presidential elections, denied the claims and posted a picture in which he can be seen on a hospital bed in Florida. Bolsonaro said he went to a hospital in Orlando on Monday after he suffered intestinal pain following an attempted stabbing in 2018, according to details described in the microblogging post.
Earlier in an interview with CNN Brasil, the former leader said that he had planned to stay in the US until January, but as he had problems with his stomach, he would return to his country very soon to meet with his doctors. . He said, “I would like to return to Brazil as the doctors are already aware of my prior issues of intestinal blockage due to knife wounds.”
Bolsonaro is under investigation in the US
However, his stay in the US has already raised questions about the Biden administration, as he traveled to Washington with heads of state and diplomats when he was in office. Earlier in a routine press conference, when a reporter asked about Bolsonaro’s overstay in the US, State Department spokesman Ned Price clarified that he had entered the country on a visa for foreign nationals. In addition, he said any such official or representative would have to leave the country within 30 days or apply for a change of immigration status “if they are no longer engaged on official business”.
What do political analysts believe
Political analysts have repeatedly warned that Bolsonaro was laying the groundwork for an insurrection in the mold of the January 6, 2021, uprising at the US Capitol. For months, he fueled a belief among staunch supporters that the country’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud. However, he never presented any evidence and independent experts disagreed.
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