Brazil’s Bolsonaro stable, but test results worsen, medical note says

Summary

• Jair Bolsonaro is in intensive care with bronchopneumonia, with no discharge date set by the DF Star hospital in Brasilia.
• Tests showed worsening kidney function and higher inflammatory markers despite treatments like antibiotics and physiotherapy.
• Serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup, his requests for house arrest have been denied by Justice Moraes.

BRASILIA - Brazil's imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro remained stable in an intensive care unit on March 14 after being diagnosed with bronchopneumonia, but tests showed worsening kidney function and higher inflammatory markers, according to a medical note.

The DF Star hospital in Brasilia said there is no forecast for the former president's discharge.

Bolsonaro, 70, continues to receive treatment including antibiotics, intravenous hydration, respiratory and motor physiotherapy, and preventive measures against venous thrombosis, it added.

He was hospitalised on March 13 after an episode of bronchoaspiration that led to bronchopneumonia, a lung infection that spreads from the airways into the lungs and can cause breathing difficulties.

Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 presidential election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro's family and lawyers have sought to have the former president transferred to house arrest since he was jailed in 2025.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case, has denied previous petitions, with a panel at the court upholding his decision. REUTERS