Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital for ‘persistent hiccups’.
His office said the leader had been suffering from hiccups for the past ten days, and had been admitted to hospital in Sao Paulo so that doctors could investigate a suspected intestinal blockage.
Bolsonaro was stabbed in the abdomen while campaigning for the presidency in 2018, and there have been concerns about his health since then.
Bolsonaro has proven to be a controversial figure, drawing criticism for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. The country has the highest number of confirmed deaths as a result from Covid-19, with more than 500 000 Brazilians succumbing to the virus. Only the United States has more confirmed deaths.
Bolsonaro has also made disparaging remarks about gay, indigenous and black Brazilians and expressed support for the military dictatorship which governed the country from 1964 to 1985.
The president faces re-election at the end of 2022, when he looks likely to be up against former president Lula, who governed from 2003 to 2010. Lula has made something of a miracle comeback, with current polls showing that in a head-to-head race with Bolsonaro, Lula would win easily.
[Image: Jade Scarlato on Unsplash]