Far-left Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underwent emergency surgery last night to address a brain bleed related to a fall he experienced in October, according to a statement released by the government on Tuesday morning.
Lula’s office announced that the president visited the Hospital Sírio-Libanês in Brasília on December 9 for imaging tests after suffering from a headache. The tests revealed intracranial hemorrhage, a result of an accident that occurred on October 19. He was promptly transferred to the Hospital Sírio-Libanês unit in São Paulo, where doctors performed a craniotomy to drain the hematoma. Fortunately, the surgery went smoothly, and Lula is currently in stable condition in the ICU.
The hospital attributed the intracranial hemorrhage to a fall Lula experienced at home in mid-October, which led to his absence at the 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan and the APEC summit in Peru.
Coinciding with Lula’s emergency surgery, the Brazilian real plummeted to record lows, falling below six to the US dollar due to concerns about the country’s public finances. The currency has depreciated by 20% this year, making it one of the worst-performing major currencies.
Lee Hardman, a senior currency analyst at MUFG, highlighted the potential impact of Lula’s surgery on Brazil’s policy outlook and the real: “The real’s poor performance this year is largely attributed to a lack of confidence in the government’s fiscal policies.”
Doctors have advised that Lula will remain in the ICU for the next 48 hours as a precautionary measure.