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Bolsonaro leaves house arrest for shoulder surgery, wife says

By Thomson Reuters May 1, 2026 | 5:55 AM

SAO PAULO, May 1 (Reuters) – Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, entered surgery this morning for ​a shoulder procedure expected to ‌last about five hours, including two hours of preparation, his wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said in a social media ‌post ​around 9 a.m. ⁠local time.

The procedure aims ⁠to address a chronic problem in his right shoulder that has caused persistent pain and limited ​his mobility.

Bolsonaro has been under humanitarian house arrest, under ⁠an initial 90-day ⁠regime authorized on medical grounds, ​while also dealing with other health ​issues.

He was convicted last year ‌of plotting a coup after his narrow defeat by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the ⁠2022 presidential election.

In allowing the surgery, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled ⁠that only ‌Michelle Bolsonaro would be ⁠permitted to accompany him ​at ‌the hospital, with all ​other visits ⁠suspended, including those of lawyers and other family members, unless authorized by the court.

(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Kevin Liffey and ​Franklin Paul)