Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, “in accordance with medical advice, will not be traveling to the BRICS summit in Kazan due to a temporary impediment to long-distance flights,” the Presidential Office announced Oct. 20. Lula will participate by videoconference. (U.S. sanctions forced Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the same for the 2023 summit.) Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira will represent Brazil in person at the summit.
From various accounts, Lula hit his head when he fell in the bathroom Saturday night, Oct. 19, hitting hard enough to require five stitches. As Lula’s physician, Dr. Roberto Kalil told GloboNews TV, “it was a silly, ordinary accident. But serious … [because] there was bleeding in the brain.” Kalil said the President is fine, but although the hemorrhage was small, “any brain hemorrhage, theoretically, can worsen in the following days, so observation is important.” Lula will be repeatedly tested “throughout the week” to check, Kalil added. Otherwise, Lula can engage in normal activities from his Brasilia office, but he is advised not to make any long-distance air travel.
