Former President Jair Bolsonaro has been in intensive care at a Brasília hospital since Friday, battling bilateral bacterial pneumonia caused by the aspiration of stomach fluid.
His oxygen saturation had plummeted to a dangerously low 82% before he was rushed to hospital from the prison where he has begun serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after the 2022 election. As of Sunday, doctors reported some improvement in his kidney function but a renewed spike in inflammatory markers, prompting an expanded course of antibiotics. He is not expected to leave the ICU anytime soon.
Bolsonaro’s health issues trace back to September 2018, when he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally. The attack nearly killed him, required multiple surgeries and left lasting complications. But, as with anything around Bolsonaro, it has become a polarizing political matter surrounded by conspiracy theories. The far right claims he was the victim of an assassination attempt ordered by left-wing parties (his attacker was considered a mentally ill lone wolf), while many on the left still contend the whole thing was faked.
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