Brazil: Lula back in business after his brain operation

A little more than a week after his operation for a hemorrhage near the brain, Brazilian President Lula returned to Brasilia on Thursday, at a time when his government is facing serious budgetary challenges and a depreciation of the currency.

On the night of December 9 to 10, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 79, was urgently transferred from the capital to Sao Paulo and underwent intracranial surgery aimed at resolving a hematoma linked to a fall in October.

Released on Sunday from the Syrian-Lebanese hospital in Sao Paulo, the head of state obtained the green light from doctors to return to Brasilia after undergoing a tomogram, a medical imaging exam, in this renowned establishment on Thursday morning. .

“The hematoma simply no longer exists”

Hat on his head and thumbs up, he left without making a declaration, before going to the airport. He returned to his official residence in Brasilia early in the afternoon, the Brazilian presidency told AFP.

“The result of the examination is extremely satisfactory, he is doing well. The hematoma simply no longer exists,” summarized Roberto Kalil, Lula’s personal doctor, to the press. On Sunday, in an interview with TV Globo, this doctor estimated that there had been “a risk that the worst would happen”.

Since his release from hospital, Lula had stayed at his private residence in Sao Paulo while awaiting the check carried out on Thursday. A new examination is planned within ten days.

A shadow over his ability to run for a new mandate

“He can carry out his activities normally, everything is perfect from a cognitive point of view, he can work,” added Doctor Kalil.

This new health problem, after laryngeal cancer in 2011 and hip surgery last year, casts a shadow over his ability to run for a new term in the 2026 presidential election, as many believe he intends to do. .

In Brasilia, Lula intends to organize a very important meeting with his government on Friday, at a time when the executive is trying to have Parliament approve a package of budgetary measures poorly received by the business community. A first step was taken Thursday with a vote by the deputies, pending the Senate.

Unemployment has reached its lowest level since 2012

The Brazilian currency has depreciated sharply in recent weeks, reaching the historic level of six reais per dollar at the end of November.

According to the specialized website TradingView, at the close on Thursday a dollar was trading for 6.12 reais, after having traded the day before for 6.30 reais, a new record.

The depreciation continued despite the decision taken last week by the Central Bank of Brazil to raise the key rate, to 12.25%, due to inflationary surges. Year-on-year inflation accelerated to 4.87% in November, above the upper limit of the range – between 1.5% and 4.5% – targeted by the authorities.

“No one in this country has more budgetary responsibility than me”

But Brazil also shows good indicators, with growth of 0.9% in the third quarter and GDP growth of more than 3% expected this year, while unemployment reached its lowest level since 2012: 6.2 % over the August-November period.

But investors are wary of the government’s ability to maintain a balanced budget. “No one in this country has more responsibility than me on the budgetary level,” Lula assured a few days ago.

The package of measures announced at the end of November by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and currently submitted to Parliament provides for a reduction in public spending of 70 billion reais (around 10 billion Swiss francs) by 2026.

However, measures considered insufficient, especially since, at the same time, he planned to almost double the tax exemption ceiling. According to the government, this reduction in tax revenue should be offset by an increase in taxes for the wealthiest, but financial market operators do not seem to have been convinced.

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