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Brazil’s Former President Bolsonaro Is Under Observation in a Florida Hospital

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Brazil’s Former President Bolsonaro Is Under Observation in a Florida Hospital
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is in a Florida hospital complaining of abdominal pain. File photo taken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Oct. 30, 2022. (Wagner Meier/Getty Images)
1/9/2023
Updated:
1/9/2023

Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president nicknamed the “Trump of the Tropics,” is under observation at a Florida hospital after complaining of abdominal discomfort, his wife announced on Jan. 9.

Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported Bolsonaro was in AdventHealth Celebration hospital in Kissimee, Florida.

The Epoch Times contacted AdventHealth Celebration for confirmation and to inquire into the former president’s condition. However, the hospital didn’t immediately respond with a comment.

“Dear all, I inform [you] that my husband, Jair Bolsonaro, is in observation [at] a hospital due to abdominal discomfort, as a consequence of the stab he had in 2018 from a former PSOL (Socialism and Freedom Party) member,” Michelle Bolsonaro announced in a translated Instagram post.

She asked for prayers for both her husband and Brazil.

In the four years since his original stab wound, Bolsonaro was hospitalized for complications from it on multiple occasions, according to CNN.
Protesters, many of whom support Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro, surround several governmental buildings as they are confronted by security forces in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (Ton Molina/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters, many of whom support Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro, surround several governmental buildings as they are confronted by security forces in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023. (Ton Molina/AFP via Getty Images)

Images from Twitter show Jair Bolsonaro was out taking pictures with supporters in Orlando, Florida just a day ago.

The news of his wound flaring came one day after his supporters stormed the Brazil Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace.

Rioters ripped through the buildings, smashing windows, furniture, and artwork. They also stole the country’s original 1988 Constitution.

Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s 2022 election to socialist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Workers’ Party candidate.

Silva won with 50.9 percent of the vote, as previously reported.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during his government's first cabinet meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on Jan. 6, 2023. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during his government's first cabinet meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on Jan. 6, 2023. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)

Bolsonaro said protests following his apparent loss were the fruit of “indignation and a sense of injustice.”

His supporters took to the streets.

Across Brazil, they blockaded roads in 190 locations and caused widespread disruption in fuel distribution, industrial activity, and food logistics.

So far, Silva’s government has arrested more than 1,200 of Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters. The president has also blamed his predecessor for the unrest.

“You know that there are several speeches by the former president encouraging this. And this is also his responsibility and the parties that supported him,” Silva said in a post on Twitter.
Bolsonaro responded to the unrest with his own Twitter message, telling the public he didn’t support violence, according to a translated post.

“Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy,” the post reads. “However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, crossed the line.”

He added that he repudiates the accusations against him by Silva.

After the election and before his term ended, Bolsonaro flew to Florida, as previously reported.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in Mexico City that America has not yet received, “Any official requests from the Brazilian government related to Bolsonaro.”

However, Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called for Jair Bolsonaro’s extradition.

“Domestic terrorists and fascists cannot be allowed to use Trump’s playbook to undermine democracy,” said Castro. “Bolsonaro must not be given refuge in Florida, where he’s been hiding from accountability for his crimes.”

Bolsonaro didn’t attend Silva’s inauguration.

Bolsonaro, a former soldier, served in Brazil’s Senate for 27 years. During that time, he remained a strong political conservative. He changed political parties four times during his career, winning the presidency as a member of Brazil’s Social Liberal party.

He opposes abortion and supports traditional families. He also supports closer alliances with Israel and the United States.

Bolsonaro has expressed admiration for former U.S. President Donald Trump. He won the 2018 election with 55 percent of the vote.

What he admires the most about Trump’s administration, Bolsonaro said, is “union, patriotism, and Trump speaking about God and family—values that aren’t being followed in Brazil.”

Bolsonaro also spoke out against Brazil’s strong ties with China.

According to the New York Times, Bolsonaro announced to diplomats that he feared the 2022 Brazil election might be rigged. Hackers successfully breached the internal systems of Brazilian election authorities. However, election officials dismissed Bolsonaro’s concerns.

He also said police told him, “hackers could change the name of candidates, take a vote from one candidate and send it to the other.”

Bolsonaro isn’t the only foreign political leader to take refuge from political downfall in Florida.

Haitian ruler Prosper Avril fled to the state in 1990 after unrest drove him from power, according to the Roanoke Times.
In 1988, Panama strongman Manuel Noriega was imprisoned in Florida for drug trafficking, the LA Times reported.
And Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Samoza also fled to Miami, according to the New York Times, however, he was refused refuge in 1979 and left for Panama.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Brazilian government to ask if it will seek extradition of Jair Bolsonaro, but received no comment.