Brazil's Lula has head drain removed after second surgery, doctors say

SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a drain removed from his head on Thursday evening, his doctors said, as he recovers from emergency surgery earlier this week to relieve bleeding in his skull.

Lula remains "lucid and speaking normally", the doctors said in a new medical note, adding the drain was removed without complications.

Lula's condition has raised doubts about the president's intention to run for re-election in 2026, but a senior aide said on Thursday he will be the ruling Workers Party candidate.

Lula, 79, is expected to be discharged from Sao Paulo's Sirio-Libanes Hospital early next week, when he might resume his presidential activities, his personal doctor, Roberto Kalil Filho, told reporters earlier in the day.

Lula remains under intensive care treatment, according to the latest medical note.

Doctors operated on the leftist leader for about two hours on Tuesday to drain bleeding between his brain and meningeal membrane, which they said was linked to a fall at his home in late October.

Lula underwent a second procedure on Thursday morning, a middle meningeal artery embolization, aimed at minimizing the risk of future bleeding.

"It was a preventive procedure," said Rogerio Tuma, a neurologist, adding that it would sharply reduce the likelihood of a new hematoma.

Brazil's presidential spokesman Paulo Pimenta, meanwhile, stated that Lula will be on the ballot in October 2026.

In an interview with CNN Brasil, Pimenta rejected criticism that Lula's health and age would be obstacles for him to seek a fourth term. Lula, who is currently serving a third non-consecutive term, will be 81 by the next presidential election.

A majority of Brazilians, however, think Lula should not run again, according to a new poll, even though the survey showed he would be the favorite candidate to defeat conservative rivals.

The Genial/Quaest poll released on Thursday, carried out before he was rushed to hospital on Tuesday, found that 52% of those surveyed thought Lula should not run for re-election, compared to 58% who thought so in October.

Those who think he ought to run rose to 45% from 40% in previous poll.

If the race went to a runoff, Lula would win with more than 50% of the votes against former hard-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is banned from running until 2030, or the conservative governors of Sao Paulo and Goias states if they were to stand.

The left in Brazil would be orphaned politically if Lula does not run, because he has no heir-apparent in his Workers Party and Brazilian voters have become more conservative.

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