Minister of Secom said that the president’s health situation will be better defined in the next 48 hours, but that there is no reason for the vice-president to take command of the country
The minister of Secom (Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency), Paulo Pimenta, said this Tuesday (10.Dec.2024) that the government assesses that there is no need, for now, for the president (PT) to officially step aside from office . The governor is stable and lucid in need of draining a hemorrhage in his head this morning.
“Initially, we are working to ensure that there will be no need for the president to be formally removed,” said to Radio Gaucha this Tuesday morning (Dec 10). Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) is the main commitment that the PT member would have. the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, in a ceremony at Itamaraty.
The Constitution establishes specific situations in which the President of the Republic must transfer the exercise of the position to the Vice President. However, the rule is not clear for situations in which the president is no longer able to work for a short period, such as surgery.
In this case, Lula was under anesthesia for a short time and did not need to delegate his role to Alckmin. The procedure carried out on the president lasted approximately 2 to 3 hours. Read more about.
“The president’s health condition is completely stable. He’s conscious, he’s calm. It was a precaution, let’s say, necessary due to this monitoring that has been carried out regularly since the moment the president had this bruise on his head, a blow to the skull cavity and this obviously has consequences”, said Pimenta.
The head of Secom said that he met with Lula on Monday (Dec 9) and that, at the time, the president was “a little sleepy and tired” in the early afternoon, already showing signs that “something wasn’t right.” Even so, the minister reported that the president fulfilled his commitments normally.
The PT member was already planning to carry out routine assessment exams this Tuesday, but ended up bringing it forward to early Monday night because of a severe headache. Since he fell in a bathroom at the Palácio da Alvorada and hit his head hard, on October 19, Lula has carried out periodic assessments to monitor any consequences of the blow.
In the interview, Pimenta said that the PT member has been taking anticonvulsant medication since the episode as a precaution. One of the side effects of the medicine, according to the minister, is causing drowsiness.
Lula initially went to the Sírio-Libanês hospital in Brasília to undergo tests, but when an intracranial hemorrhage was identified, the medical team decided to transfer him to the São Paulo unit on a FAB (Brazilian Air Force) plane. There, he was subjected to one in the early hours of Tuesday.
According to the doctors treating Lula, led by cardiologist Roberto Kalil, Lula will remain in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) for 48 hours. Pimenta said that during this period, the president should not have contact with ministers or advisors. “There is no need or urgency to make contact at this time. Guidance to preserve, absolute rest”, these.
Doctors who treated the president gave an interview to journalists at the Sírio-Libanês hospital in São Paulo. According to Kalil, the procedure went well, Lula is stable, talks and eats normally.
The other two times that Lula underwent medical procedures – when he had hip surgery and when he hit his head –, Lula went through a period of recovery in which he worked from Palácio da Alvorada. In neither case did he take leave from his position.
