Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was rushed to intensive care Friday after developing bronchopneumonia at the federal prison where he is serving a 27-year sentence for orchestrating a failed coup, according to officials.
The 70-year-old former leader presented with a "high fever, a sudden drop in oxygen saturation, excessive sweating, and chills," said a medical bulletin from the DF Star Hospital in Brasilia.
Medical staff confirmed that the former president is receiving intravenous antibiotics and supplemental oxygen to combat "bilateral bacterial bronchopneumonia." While doctors described his condition as "stable but requiring close monitoring," the hospital noted that his clinical history makes respiratory infections particularly high-risk.
The medical emergency began early Friday. Bolsonaro's eldest son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, reported on US social media company X that his father woke up in his cell with uncontrollable chills and vomiting.
"I ask for prayers that it not be anything serious," wrote Flavio. "They are playing with my father's life," he said, accusing the judicial system of negligence.
"At the very least, he should be granted humanitarian house arrest given his precarious state of health."
This latest crisis adds to a long list of hospitalizations for the former head of state. Bolsonaro's health has been permanently compromised since 2018, when he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally. That assassination attempt resulted in multiple intestinal perforations and at least seven subsequent surgeries, leaving him prone to chronic digestive blockages and infections.
Bolsonaro's hospitalization comes at a moment of intense political friction. Last year, a panel of Supreme Court justices sentenced him to 27 years in prison for his role in the January 8, 2023, riots and a broader conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election results in which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won.
Despite his incarceration, the "Bolsonaro" name remains a central figure on the political stage. Flavio Bolsonaro is running for president in the October 2026 election. Recent polling from Datafolha shows Flavio in a virtual dead heat with the incumbent, leftist Lula.
