Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the 79-year-old leftist leader of Brazil, has now been released from the hospital. He had his own health scare when doctors diagnosed him with labyrinthitis. The condition, marked by inflammation of the inner ear’s labyrinth, disrupts both hearing and balance. Lula’s serious recent medical issues have prompted grave concern among his supporters. They are nervous as he prepares for what appears to be a reelection run next year.
The Brazilian president made a dramatic exit from a São Paulo hospital on December 15. He had just returned home after surgery following a health scare of epic proportions. The first event in the series launched on October 19. That’s when Lula collapsed in the bathroom of the presidential palace in Brasília. This incident would be the beginning of a severe cascade of complex medical concerns for the chief which, months later, ended in his hospitalization.
Lula not only fought through labyrinthitis, but recurring attacks of vertigo as well. To add insult to injury, he was suffering from debilitating headaches from re-bleeding in his brain. These symptoms caused a medical emergency requiring urgent surgical intervention, which ultimately brought him from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo for surgical treatment. The fact that he’d needed that surgery, nearly two months after his first fall, speaks to the seriousness of his situation.
Lula’s health troubles have raised fears for his backers as they plan for next year’s elections. His recent serious health issues could temporarily reduce his capacity to mount a serious campaign. That leads to worrying alarms over his stamina and health as he slowly prepares for an increasingly likely reelection campaign.
After he was released from the hospital, Lula went back to the official presidential palace where he is now resting and recovering. Photographs taken at the Planalto Palace on April 23, 2025, show Lula looking composed as he resumes his presidential duties. Though he recently found himself on death’s door, he seems determined to continue pursuing his destructive agenda and to keep leading Brazil into its fourth year of crisis.
