A high-profile (and high-risk) patient
It seems that the life of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro could not be calmer or less cinematic. While he is serving a sentence of 27 years in prison for trying, let’s say, to “reform” the democratic system in his own way, his body decided to add a medical drama to the plot. On Thursday, the gentleman underwent double hernia surgery at a hospital in Brasilia. His family, in a statement that they probably wrote through tears of… something, reported that the procedure lasted three and a half hours and, fortunately, there were no complications. What a relief, because with the character’s clinical history, one can already imagine the surgeons opening the abdomen and finding, in addition to the hernias, a couple of insurrection plans and a framed copy of the constitution with red annotations.
Of course, to leave his private suite at the federal police headquarters (with air conditioning, own bathroom and everything, because prison austerity is relative), he needed special permission. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, the same one who sent him to that five-star hotel with bars, authorized the operation. Of course, with the typical mix of clemency and judicial firmness: “Yes to surgery, no to house arrest.” Moraes, clearly, does not trust one bit that a hernia can become a passport to freedom. And who blames him, with a patient who has more political relapses than a reality show.
Convalescence comes with a political agenda
But don’t think that our protagonist is going to waste time between painkillers and sutures. Not at all! Convalescence is the perfect time for big strategic moves. Before he was put to sleep with general anesthesia, Bolsonaro found time to write a handwritten letter (what a vintage and personal detail) designating his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate for the upcoming elections. Because what better legacy than passing the dynastic baton from a hospital room, with a vigilant judge and a sentence of almost three decades hanging over one’s head? The letter, read solemnly by the heir, speaks of restoring “prosperity” and “justice.” One wonders if prosperity also includes a manual on how to avoid failed coups, which are often bad for the economy.
The context, in case anyone had forgotten, is from an anthology. Bolsonaro and several cronies were convicted by a panel of judges for trying to overthrow the democratic system after losing the 2022 elections. The plans, according to the courts, included everything from assassinating rivals such as Lula da Silva or Judge Moraes himself, to fomenting an insurrection. Kid stuff, wow. The former president, as is tradition in these cases, has denied any crime. Surely it was all a misunderstanding, a meeting of friends discussing democracy and anatomy (the hernia thing would come later).
While he recovers, Bolsonaro enjoys the company of his wife, Michelle, and authorized family visits. A lovely detail is that, although you have free access to your doctors and lawyers, any other visitors need the approval of the Supreme Court. Imagine the scene: “Are you here to bring flowers or to plan a mutiny? Sign here, please.” Life, after all, is a matter of priorities. And the priority now is to heal the hernias, while the wounds of Brazilian democracy try to heal, against all odds and presidential nomination letters written from a hospital bed.
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