Jair Bolsonaro

March 27 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was discharged from the hospital Friday and transferred to his residence in Brasilia, where he will serve a 90-day period of house arrest.

The house arrest follows a decision by the Supreme Federal Court that considered his health condition, his personal physician told local media.

Bolsonaro, 71, had been hospitalized March 13 with bronchopneumonia after presenting high fever, low oxygen saturation and chills while in prison.

His doctor, Brasil Caiado, confirmed that the former president “has just been discharged” and will continue his recovery at home under a “disciplined” treatment.

The ruling came from Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the former leader to temporarily serve his sentence under house arrest for an initial period of 90 days, starting from his discharge from the hospital, according to reports by Infobae. The provision may be extended and will be reassessed at the end of that period.

According to the medical team, the former president’s right lung “is normal,” while the left still shows some alterations that will be treated with physiotherapy.

Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for his involvement in an attempted coup after losing the 2022 election to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro had previously been serving his sentence under house arrest. However, the court ordered his imprisonment in November at the Federal Police Headquarters in Brasilia due to flight risk after he damaged his electronic ankle monitor with a welding tool.

Caiado said full recovery from severe bilateral pneumonia can take between six weeks and six months, and did not rule out possible complications such as pulmonary fibrosis.

Bolsonaro’s family made adjustments to his home to facilitate his recovery, including installing a special bed to treat reflux issues and episodes of hiccups.

The doctor described the judicial decision as a “sensible decision” and said the home environment offers better conditions to prevent relapses than a prison facility.

The Supreme Court had previously rejected similar requests from the defense, but in this case determined that the former president’s health condition “requires constant and careful attention,” in line with the recommendation of prosecutors.

House arrest imposes a series of restrictions on Bolsonaro, according to the digital outlet G1. The former president must wear an electronic ankle monitor at all times. He is prohibited from using smartphones, computers or any other means of communication, including through third parties.

He is also fully barred from publishing or recording videos or audio. This is particularly relevant, as polls show a technical tie in a potential runoff between his son Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the October elections.

March 13 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was hospitalized Friday in Brasilia after doctors diagnosed a bacterial lung infection, authorities said, marking the latest health episode for the 70-year-old who is currently serving a prison sentence.

Bolsonaro was admitted to the DF Star hospital with fever, vomiting and low oxygen levels. Doctors later confirmed a case of bacterial pneumonia and began treatment with intravenous antibiotics while keeping him under medical observation.

The former president was transferred to the hospital from detention. Since January, he has been held in the officers’ wing of the 19th Military Police Battalion, known as “Papudinha,” in Brasilia, where he is serving a sentence of 27 years, three months in prison for an attempted coup.

Health issues have been a recurring concern for Bolsonaro since a 2018 assassination attempt during a campaign rally in the southeastern city of Juiz de Fora, where he was stabbed in the abdomen.

The attack caused severe internal injuries and required emergency surgery, forcing him to spend weeks recovering in hospital while continuing his presidential campaign.

Since then, Bolsonaro has undergone several abdominal procedures and has been hospitalized numerous times for intestinal obstructions, infections, hernia repairs and other chronic health problems. Doctors said Friday his condition is stable and that doctors continue to monitor the infection.

March 13 (UPI) — A State Department official was barred Friday from going to Brazil because of a proposed visit to jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in prison for plotting a coup four years ago.

The official, Darren Beattie, was approved for a visa to attend a critical minerals summit next week, but his visa was pulled because the meeting with Bolsonaro was determined to be outside his diplomatic authorization, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Bloomberg and The Guardian reported.

After the ruling, current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ordered his government to revoke Beattie’s visa entirely, at least partially because U.S. President Donald Trump denied Brazilian health minister Alexandre Padilha a visa and revoked visas held by his wife and daughter.

“That American guy who said he was coming here to visit Bolsonaro, he’s been barred from visiting and I have forbidden him from to Brazil so long as they don’t free up the visa of my health minister, which has been blocked,” Lula said Friday.

Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence after he was convicted for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.

The charges were based on Bolsonaro’s supporters storming government buildings in January 2023 — a plan that had started in 2021, before the 2022 election — in an effort to prevent Lula from taking office.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said that although Beattie’s visa application included the minerals summit and meetings with other Brazilian officials, he only asked for the other meetings after asking for the Bolsonaro visit.

Trump and many within his administration, including Beattie, have been critical of the Brazilian Supreme Court and the country’s officials for jailing Bolsonaro on the coup charges.

“It should be noted that a visit by a foreign state official to a former president in an election year may constitute undue interference in the internal affairs of the Brazilian state, Vieira told the Supreme Court.

Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro, who is the son of the former president, are currently locked in a close race for Brazil’s presidency after a poll found them tied for the first time with 41% of participants, which would lead to a runoff election.

The Brazilian presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 4, and a runoff would be Oct. 25.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says Darren Beattie was ‘prohibited from visiting’ Bolsonaro in prison.

The government of Brazil has revoked the visa of Darren Beattie, a far-right adviser to United States President Donald Trump who had planned to visit ex-President Jair Bolsonaro in his prison cell in Brasilia.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed on Friday that Beattie’s visa has been pulled. He equated it to the US pulling visas from Brazilian officials in Washington, DC.

Among them was Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, whose US visa was revoked last year.

“That American guy who said he was coming here to visit Jair Bolsonaro was prohibited from visiting, and I forbade him from coming to Brazil until they release the visa for my health minister,” Lula said during an event in Rio de Janeiro.

Separately, Brazilian officials told news services, including the AFP, that Beattie had lied about the purpose of the visit on his visa request.

Bolsonaro is a far-right ally of President Trump, and he is currently serving a 27-year sentence for his role in a coup plot after Brazil’s 2022 election.

Friday’s decision shows the continued tension between the Brazilian and US governments, even as Trump and Lula have enjoyed warming relations.

Last August, Trump placed Brazil under heavy tariffs — some of the highest in the world — in protest against Bolsonaro’s prosecution. He demanded that the country’s legal system drop the case against Bolsonaro and accused Brazil of persecuting right-wing voices.

After Trump met Lula at the United Nations General Assembly in September and again at a summit for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in October, relations between the two leaders improved.

Lula also reached out by telephone in October in a bid to ease the cumulative 50-percent tariffs on certain Brazilian products. On November 20, Trump responded by issuing an executive order “modifying the scope of tariffs” on Brazilian exports like beef and coffee.

But speculation has remained high that Trump could again intervene in the country’s domestic politics to boost the prospects of the Brazilian right.

Brazil is set to hold a new presidential election in October, where Lula is facing off against Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Flavio.

Lawyers for the imprisoned Bolsonaro had asked the Brazilian Supreme Court to approve a visitation request from Beattie this week, but the court rejected that request on Thursday.

Beattie, a strong critic of Lula’s government, was fired during Trump’s first term in office following reports that he had attended a white nationalist conference.

Bolsonaro, meanwhile, was placed in intensive care on Friday, with hospital officials saying the 70-year-old had a “high fever, a drop in oxygen saturation, sweating and chills” linked to pneumonia.

March 12 (UPI) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro are tied for the first time for a potential runoff after the Oct. 4 presidential election, according to a poll released Wednesday. A runoff would be Oct. 25.

The survey found each candidate with 41% support in a hypothetical second round.

Bolsonaro, a member of the Liberal Party and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, leads among voters who identify as independent, a shift that could give him an edge.

Among independents, Bolsonaro gained 6 percentage points and would lead Lula 32% to 27% in a runoff scenario. Another 36% said they would not vote and 5% were undecided.

The gap between the two candidates has narrowed steadily, from 10 points in December to seven in January, five in February and zero in March, according to the survey conducted by polling firm Quaest and commissioned by Genial Investimentos.

Similar trends have appeared in other recent polls. A Datafolha survey published Saturday showed Lula with 46% support compared with 43% for Bolsonaro.

Quaest tested first- and second-round scenarios with eight potential candidates. In first-round simulations, Lula leads in two scenarios and is statistically tied with Bolsonaro in five others. Lula’s support ranges between 36% and 39%, while Bolsonaro’s support ranges between 30% and 35%.

Felipe Nunes, Quaest’s director, said Bolsonaro’s gradual rise began after his father publicly named him as a potential candidate in December.

“Flávio has managed to consolidate Bolsonaro’s electorate. He has grown among right-wing voters and improved his performance among independent voters,” Nunes said, according to news website O Globo.

The poll also showed worsening public assessments of the government and the economy.

Both Lula and Bolsonaro face high rejection rates, with 56% of respondents saying they would not vote for Lula and 55% saying the same about Bolsonaro.

“The shift over time is striking. In December, Lula had much greater potential and lower rejection. Now, both have similar levels,” Nunes said.

The survey found 48% of Brazilians believe the economy has worsened over the past 12 months, while 24% say it has improved. In February, negative perceptions stood at 43%.