Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has undergone a medical procedure to treat a persistent case of hiccups that has plagued him for nine months. The news comes as the controversial figure serves a lengthy prison sentence for his role in attempting to overturn the 2022 election.
A Medical Procedure Behind Bars
According to a social media post by his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, the 70-year-old former leader had a "phrenic nerve block procedure" on Saturday. The treatment was aimed at curing the debilitating hiccups that have caused him "nine months of struggle and anguish."
His medical team later confirmed they had successfully blocked his right phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, and scheduled a follow-up procedure to block the left nerve within 48 hours. This intervention took place after Bolsonaro was hospitalised last Wednesday for a separate hernia operation.
The Legal Backdrop: A 27-Year Sentence
The medical treatment occurs under the shadow of a monumental legal conviction. In September, Brazil's supreme court sentenced Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup to overturn his election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Permission for the hospital visit was granted by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes at the request of Bolsonaro's defence lawyers. Once discharged, he is required to return to a federal police jail in the capital, Brasília, to continue serving his sentence.
Endorsement and Ongoing Health Issues
Even from his hospital bed, Bolsonaro remained politically active, using a statement to endorse the 2026 presidential bid of his son, Flavio Bolsonaro. The former president's health has been a recurring concern since he survived a stabbing during a campaign event in Juiz de Fora in September 2018.
That attack led to multiple surgeries in his abdominal region, and the recent hernia operation and persistent hiccups are seen as part of the ongoing aftermath of that trauma.
The juxtaposition of a major medical procedure for a mundane yet severe ailment against the backdrop of a historic political crime sentence paints a complex picture of the former leader's current existence, confined yet still commanding national attention.
