Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was admitted to a military hospital in Brasilia Monday to undergo tests after feeling unwell, local press reported. Also on Monday, the president decided to replace the president of state-owned oil giant Petrobras, Joaquim Silva e Luna, amid strong pressure due to recurrent increases in fuel prices.
Bolsonaro, 67, who was stabbed in the abdomen during the 2018 presidential campaign leaving him with lasting health problems, was absent from an evening event organised by Brazil's Republican Party that he had been slated to attend.
"I'm sure the president is fine, it's just some extra exams he's doing, that's why he's not here," party chairman Marcos Pereira said.
According to the G1 news site, first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, who attended the event, said that her husband "is fine," and Minister of Communications Fabio Faria reported that the president simply felt "discomfort."
AFP contacted the presidential press service but did not immediately receive a response.
In January, Bolsonaro was hospitalised for two days in Sao Paulo with a partially blocked intestine.
The president, in power since 2019, was also admitted to the hospital in mid-July with the same problem, staying for four days although he did not undergo surgery.
Due to the stab wound, the far-right leader has undergone at least four surgeries, including the placement and subsequent removal of a colostomy bag, which made him more prone to intestinal disorders.
Decision to replace Petrobras chief
Bolsonaro decided on Monday to replace the president of state-owned oil giant Petrobras, Joaquim Silva e Luna, amid strong pressure due to recurrent increases in fuel prices.
The information, leaked by the Brazilian press, was confirmed in the evening by the ministry of mines and energy, which proposed economist Adriano Pires, a specialist in the oil and gas field, as the new candidate for the job.
The appointment must be approved by Petrobras’ board of directors next April 13, the ministry said.
Bolsonaro had appointed Silva e Luna, an army reserve general, in February last year, also dissatisfied at that time with the constant price increases applied by the company.
The president has long criticised the pricing policy of Petrobras, which has set severe increases in line with the international price of crude oil.
In early March, Petrobras upped the price of gas by 18.8 percent and diesel by 24.9 percent, citing the "worldwide increase in the price of oil and its derivatives as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine".
The increases have fuelled inflation, hitting Bolsonaro's popularity ahead of his re-election bid in October.
According to the latest survey by the Datafolha consulting firm, conducted in March, 75 percent of Brazilians believe that the government has "a lot" or "some" responsibility for the surging inflation.
The same survey indicates Bolsonaro would lose in an eventual second round against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
(FRANCE 24 WITH AFP)
