Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last week of leading an attempted coup, has now been diagnosed with skin cancer, his doctor confirmed Wednesday. The 70-year-old far-right leader was rushed to DF Star hospital in Brasilia under prison guard on Tuesday after suffering severe hiccups, vomiting, dehydration, and dangerously low blood pressure. Doctors later discharged him once his condition stabilized, though medical tests revealed persistent anemia, kidney impairment, and an elevated heart rate.
Bolsonaro’s fragile health has been a recurring theme since the 2018 stabbing he survived during his presidential campaign. He has since undergone several operations related to the attack and continues to battle complications. His latest hospitalization followed a visit on Sunday in which doctors removed eight skin lesions. Two of those tested positive for squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer his physician Claudio Birolini described as “intermediate” — not the most aggressive, but serious enough to warrant caution. At present, no additional treatment is required beyond removal of the lesions, though monitoring will continue.
The diagnosis comes at a turbulent moment in Bolsonaro’s political life. Only days earlier, he was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting to prevent his leftist rival, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from assuming power after the 2022 election. Prosecutors said the alleged coup plan included assassinations of Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, but ultimately collapsed due to the refusal of senior military leaders to support it. Bolsonaro has consistently rejected the charges, claiming he is the target of a political “witch hunt.” His lawyers have vowed to appeal, and his team is expected to request house arrest given his medical condition.
Currently under house arrest in Brasilia since August, Bolsonaro retains strong backing among loyal supporters who view him as a victim of persecution. Internationally, his case has strained ties with the United States. Former President Donald Trump, a close ally, denounced the trial as unjust and politically motivated. In response to the conviction, Trump imposed steep tariffs of 50 percent on numerous Brazilian imports and sanctions against senior officials, a move followed by warnings from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that more punitive measures may follow.
Bolsonaro’s diagnosis and conviction mark the most dramatic turn yet in the fall of Brazil’s former army captain turned populist leader. His political future now rests on the outcome of his appeal — and on whether his declining health might alter the way his sentence is enforced.
