Brazil presidential candidate Bolsonaro underwent surgery

21/9/2018 12:47

        Brazil's far-right,
        poll-leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro underwent a
        procedure to drain liquid from his abdominal cavity on Thursday,
        two weeks after he was stabbed in an assassination attempt, a
        hospital statement said.
        
        Bolsonaro had a slight fever, the Albert Einstein hospital
        said in a statement, prompting doctors to order a scan. It
        showed an accumulation of liquid next to his intestine that was
        successfully drained.
        
        A sample will now be analyzed to see if Bolsonaro is
        suffering from an infection, two doctors with knowledge of the
        procedure told Reuters on condition of anonymity because they
        were not authorized to discuss the matter.
        
        A brief video of Bolsonaro walking back from the procedure
        accompanied by a nurse was posted on his Twitter account to show
        supporters he was recovering, although he was not expected to
        resume campaigning before the Oct. 7 election.
        
        "Wait for me, folks, at the first-round vote," the former
        army captain said into the camera with a smile.
        
        Bolsonaro gained ground over his rivals for the first round
        ballot despite being in hospital, according to a Datafolha poll
        published earlier on Thursday, widening his lead by two points
        to 28 percent. His closest adversary, Fernando Haddad of the
        leftist Workers Party, had 16 percent.
        
        However, the election was expected to go to a second-round
        runoff on Oct. 28 in which the poll showed he was tied at 41
        percent with Haddad, who replaced jailed former president Luiz
        Inacio Lula da Silva last week on the Workers Party ticket.
        
        Bolsonaro surged ahead in Brazil's most uncertain election
        in a generation by vowing to sweep away political corruption,
        crack down on rising violent crime and ease gun controls to
        allow Brazilians to buy guns to defend themselves.
        
        His son sent a positive message after the procedure.
        
        "They tried to destroy our family but all they have done is
        strengthen us. The captain is returning," Flavio Bolsonaro said
        in a Twitter message.