BOLSONARO HOSPITALIZED, FACES POSSIBLE SURGERY

President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil faced possible emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction after doctors on Wednesday ordered that he be flown to a hospital in São Paulo for evaluation, the government said.

The obstruction is related to a stabbing injury Bolsonaro suffered in 2018 as he campaigned for president. He had complained in recent days about a persistent bout of hiccups, which had lasted more than 10 days, but it was unclear whether that was related.

Bolsonaro was taken to a military hospital in Brasília, the capital, early Wednesday after he woke up with a severe stomachache, aides said. The doctor who oversaw the surgeries after the 2018 stabbing determined that Bolsonaro should travel to São Paulo for additional tests.

Based on the outcome of those tests, the president might undergo “an emergency surgery,” his office said in a statement.

Bolsonaro posted a photo of himself on Instagram in which he can be seen lying shirtless on a hospital bed with a nasal tube and an IV in his arm.

“One more challenge resulting from an assassination attempt,” the caption says. “It was a cruel attack not just against me but against our democracy.”

In recent interviews and public appearances, Bolsonaro, 66, has looked and sounded unwell.

“I apologize to all the people who are listening, because I’ve had the hiccups for five days,” the president said in a radio interview last week. He said at the time that medication he was taking because of recent dental surgery may have caused the hiccups.