Missing from the public eye since losing his bid for reelection, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro is suffering from an infection that has his leg swollen to the point he cannot wear long pants, according to statements from his vice-president.
With supporters and opponents expecting him to seize the Trump crown of election-denialism, Bolsonaro failed on cue to officially accept the results of the election remaining mostly silent. That fueled rampant speculation he was plotting a federal intervention to void or re-run the elections as millions of his supporters denied the election results and gathered to beg for a military coup.
But Bolsonaro would not burn down the house. At least not immediately.
For the last weeks, he failed to take helm of a movement to scuttle the elections, staying largely out of sight. Outside of a two-minute appearance and 30-minute visit at the official office of the president, Planalto Palace, on November 3, Bolsonaro has stayed in the palace almost exclusively for the last 3 weeks.
During his presidency, whenever the president spent the night at Alvorada Palace, partisans gathered outside the palace as early at 6 am for meet-and-greets, handshakes and pictures with the militancy that took place at mid-morning. After the election defeat, he never again kept this routine.
Bolsonaro has also remained silent on a movement by his party to void the 2022 elections, and he ignored the demonstrations of supporters who have been waiting on-edge for a action from a president they believe is guided by God.
Then Bolsonaro failed again to appear, speak, or put out a statement on Brazil’s anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic, a coveted platform for politicians. All of this is unusual for a president who traveled extensively on day trips to other states, rarely spending a full day at the official residence.
Bolsonaro social media posts slowed from an expected flood during the campaign to mostly still pictures and at a pace of less than once a day and lack a personal message except for a short video telling truckers to stop road blockades.
Since taking office, Bolsonaro kept a weekly live address to discuss policy, thoughts on national and international matters and to whip up his base, seldom missing a week. He kept the commitment even when out of the country, but this November 17 marked the third consecutive week without a live broadcast.
Then this past week, it was Vice President Hamilton Mourão who took Bolsonaro’s place in receiving credentials of ambassadors and commented about the president’s health. Then, in an interview with the newspaper O Globo, Mourão said Bolsonaro has a "leg wound" that is keeping him away from the public.
"It's a matter of health. He has a wound on his leg, and erysipelas. He can't wear pants, how is he going to come here in shorts?", he told O Globo.
Erysipelas is a form of cellulitis, streptococcal infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue which affects the upper layers of the skin and usually responds to oral antibiotics and skin creams and clears up within a day or two after treatment, according to a MedicalNewsToday article reviewed by internal medicine physician and epidemiologist Dr. Alana Biggers, at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine.
Patients are usually told to avoid standing for too long, and to keep down swelling through rest maintaining the legs elevated.
It can incapacitate a person for weeks, says Dr. Susana Ayala-Padilla, an internal medicine physician with emphasis in pathology and clinical analysis.
She noted that when it happens, it is usually because of a low immunity caused by other base illnesses or resistance of the bacteria to the antibiotics, which prompts a re-evaluation and a new antibiotic course. The condition can cause symptoms like high fever, tremors, malaise, nausea, vomiting as well as painful, itchy swelling on the skin and lesions that can lead to serious complications.
Much depends on the response of the immune system, according to Dr. Ayala-Padilla. "The immune system pays an important role in the recuperation process...Stress too can complicate the process." When there is a weakened immune system, the infection can become more serious, entering the innermost layers of the skin, eliminating fat and muscle tissues which can lead to tetanus and amputation.
Bolsonaro has suffered several infections stemming from being stabbed in the abdomen during the 2018 presidential campaign which have led to six surgeries. He was also hospitalized for a pulmonary embolism in 2021 and headed to the Military Hospital in Brasilia this past week with severe abdominal pain which turned out to be a herniated scar from the stabbing but did not require surgery.
Erysipelas can enter the skin through open wounds and insect bites. There has not been a previous reporting of a leg injury suffered by Bolsonaro during the campaign.
O Globo reported that a political friend of Bolsonaro who said he had spoken with Bolsonaro and noticed him "a bit sad but not depressed," and speculated that the source of the infection could be ticks from the herds capybaras on the extensive palace grounds at Alvorada.
The president has been previously attacked by rheas, a South American version of an ostrich but a bit more compact on the tail end. The giant birds injured him twice, once pecking his hands while he fed them bananas for the cameras.
The health reports provide a possible explanation for this long public absence.
Bolsonaro has appeared on a short video that was noted for its low energy even as he told truckers blocking roads that their practice was "not cool" but that they had the right to demonstrate.
His social media posts slowed from an expected flood during the campaign to mostly still pictures and canned government messages at a pace of less than once a day.
Still Bolsonaro supporters hope it is a strategic absence, and that he will move to invalidate the election at the proper time.
The course of treatment for erysipelas is normally two weeks, according to Dr. Ayala-Padilla. "The only reason to continue this long is a possible complication."
