Brazil’s Lula released from hospital after brain bleed surgery 

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been released from hospital following an emergency surgery to treat bleeding in his brain.

The 79-year-old Brazilian leader delivered brief remarks upon his release on Sunday, days after he was rushed to the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Sao Paulo after experiencing headaches.

“I’m here alive, well, with the urge to work. And I’ll tell you something I used to say during the campaign. I’m 79 years old, I have the energy of a 30-year-old and the enthusiasm of a 20-year-old to build this country,” Lula said.

Doctors have said Lula would continue to recover from his home in Sao Paulo. He will be able to walk and hold meetings, but has been advised against international travel for the time being.

The medical team said the leftist leader should be able to travel domestically, including to the capital Brasilia, following further assessment.

Lula underwent two surgeries while at the hospital, both aimed at blocking blood flow in parts of his brain to prevent haemorrhaging. His personal doctor had described the procedures as “routine” and “minimally invasive”, requiring only sedation as opposed to anaesthesia.

His neurologist, Rogerio Tuma, reported last week that Lula’s examination results were “normal”.

Lula, who was sworn in as president in early 2023, had suffered trauma to the back of his head after falling in his home in October. At the time he received several stitches. He had curtailed travel following the fall.

Speaking on Sunday, the president also offered his first response to the arrest of General Walter Braga Netto, in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot.

Braga Netto, who was a defence minister in right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s government as well as the former leader’s running mate in the 2022 election, was arrested on Saturday after he was formally accused last month with 35 others – including Bolsonaro himself – of allegedly plotting a coup to keep the former president in power following his 2022 re-election loss.

“It is not possible for us to accept disrespect for democracy, disrespect for the constitution,” Lula said.

“And it is not possible for us to accept that in a generous country like Brazil, we have people of high military rank plotting the death of a president, his vice president and a presiding judge of the Supreme Electoral Court,” said Lula.

Prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges against Braga Netto, although authorities have said his arrest was related to allegations that he was obstructing the collection of evidence.