On Monday, October 21st, a Brazilian minister revealed that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is currently in “very good condition.” Lula had a fall at his home over the weekend, resulting in a head injury and mild cerebral bleeding, which forced him to miss the BRICS summit.
Lula took to the social media platform X on Monday to announce that he had a work meeting with Alexandre Padilha, the Secretary of the Secretariat of the Presidency, and Celso Amorim, the Chief Special Advisor of the President, to discuss the national and international political agenda for the upcoming days.
Accompanying his post were photos of the three officials during the meeting, with Lula seen speaking with the two officials, although the tweet did not mention Lula’s health condition.
Later in the day, Padilha posted on his own X account stating, “President Lula’s condition is very good, he remains active, but based on medical advice, he will not personally attend the BRICS summit.”
Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, is currently attending the summit in Kazan on behalf of Lula. The Brazilian President’s office confirmed that the 78-year-old Lula will participate in the conference via video.
According to a medical report released by the Sirio Libanes Hospital in Brasilia on Sunday (20th), Lula suffered a tear in the occipital region of his head during the accident on Saturday.
Due to his injuries, doctors advised Lula not to take long flights temporarily, leading to the cancellation of his plans to depart for Russia on Saturday afternoon (19th) to attend the BRICS summit.
The BRICS group was established fifteen years ago by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, expanding later to include countries like South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.