By Jeffrey T. Lewis
SAO PAULO--Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was stabbed in the abdomen by a deranged attacker while campaigning for the presidency in 2018, was taken to a hospital Monday morning after complaining of abdominal discomfort, according to a statement from Brazil's presidential palace.
Mr. Bolsonaro was taken to the Vila Nova Star hospital in Sao Paulo for examination, the statement said. Mr. Bolsonaro had been vacationing in the coastal Brazilian state of Santa Catarina when he began to feel the discomfort, according to local news reports.
Mr. Bolsonaro showed symptoms of a possible abdominal obstruction, is in stable condition, and is undergoing treatment, according to a statement from the Vila Nova Star Hospital. It isn't known when he might be released, the statement said.
The president has undergone multiple surgeries related to the stabbing, and in July of last year he was admitted to the same hospital for an abdominal obstruction. In that instance, he was released four days later without undergoing surgery.
The right-wing former army captain, who defeated a protege of former left-wing President Luiz Inacio da Silva in 2018 to win Brazil's highest office, faces an uphill battle for re-election in the presidential elections in October of this year.
He trails Mr. da Silva, who was jailed in 2018 after a conviction on corruption charges and was later released, by significant margins in recent opinion polls.
Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-03-22 0805ET
