MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro's health worsens after STF bailiff visit

Bolsonaro insisted De Moraes wanted to arrest and convict him

Physicians treating former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday that his health took a turn for the worse after receiving a Supreme Federal Court (STF) bailiff on Wednesday in his Intensive Care Unit ward at the DF Star Hospital in Brasília.

Bolsonaro, who underwent intestinal surgery almost two weeks ago, was reported to have suffered a clinical deterioration, including elevated blood pressure and worsening liver test results. Further tests were to be carried out later on to check his state of health with greater precision.

He is under oral fasting, receiving parenteral nutrition, motor physiotherapy, and preventive measures against venous thrombosis. No visitors are allowed, and there is no prognosis for his ICU discharge. His condition stems from complications related to a 2018 campaign stabbing, requiring his sixth surgery.

On Wednesday, an STF bailiff entered the ICU to notify him of a lawsuit by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) for an alleged 2022 coup attempt following his electoral loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro, furious over the notification, called it a “Nazi regime” tactic and claimed it was an attempt to prevent his 2026 presidential candidacy.

”I have five days to present my defense? Five days? (...) Are you aware that you are inside an intensive care unit?“ Bolsonaro cried then. In a video posted later on his social networks, he insisted he has no intention of leaving the country and claimed STF Justice Alexandre De Moraes was seeking to ”arrest and condemn“ him.

”The court intends to prevent me from being tried in 2026, just as they want to prevent me from running free in the elections because they know that, in a fair contest, there is no candidate capable of beating me,“ he also maintained. ”The process against me is advancing at a speed 14 times faster than [others] and at least 10 times faster than the one against Lula in Lava Jato,” he went on.

He has remained active on social media, criticizing the judiciary and maintaining political influence despite his health and legal battles.