Brazil: Bolsonaro diagnosed with skin cancer a week after conviction

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted last week of leading an attempted coup, has been diagnosed with skin cancer, his doctor said Wednesday.

The announcement came as the beleaguered far-right leader, 70, was discharged from a hospital in the capital Brasilia where he was rushed under prison guard Tuesday after suffering violent bouts of hiccups, vomiting and low blood pressure.

Bolsonaro has had multiple health issues and operations in recent years due to complications following a 2018 stabbing in his abdomen while campaigning for president.

The latest episode comes after his conviction last week on charges that he plotted to overthrow leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who beat him in 2022 presidential elections.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers have said they will appeal the conviction, for which he was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Brazilian legislators are also pressing for Bolsonaro to be included in an amnesty bill that would benefit those who participated in the uprising – but the bill faces an uphill battle for legislative approval, and could be subject to a presidential veto.

In a medical bulletin, the DF Star hospital in Brasilia said Bolsonaro had arrived “dehydrated, with elevated heart rate and a drop in blood pressure.”

“Exams showed persistent anemia and impaired kidney function.”

He was discharged after treatment led to an improvement in his symptoms.

Bolsonaro reported multiple health woes during the judicial process against him and missed the verdict phase of his trial.

On Sunday, he visited the hospital to have eight skin lesions removed and sent for biopsies.

“Two tested positive for a type of tumor called squamous cell carcinoma, which isn’t the most benign or the most aggressive. It’s intermediate, but it’s still a type of skin cancer that can have more serious consequences,” said his doctor, Claudio Birolini.

The lesions were removed, and no further treatment is currently required, said Birolini.

‘Witch hunt’

The former president, still popular with his supporters, has been under house arrest since August at his residence in Brasilia.

If his appeal is unsuccessful, he could ask to serve his sentence at home for health reasons.

Bolsonaro and seven co-accused were found guilty of plotting to prevent Lula from taking office – a scheme that included the assassination of Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Prosecutors said the plan failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass.

The former army captain, who served a single term from 2019 to 2022, has long claimed he is the victim of political persecution.

The high-profile trial further drove a wedge between Brasilia and US President Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally who slammed the judicial process as a “witch hunt.”

Trump has slapped a 50-percent tariff on many Brazilian imports and imposed sanctions against top officials.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that further US action could be expected in order to pressure Brazil over Bolsonaro’s conviction.