The Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvapostponed one day, to Sunday, his official trip to China after being diagnosed with “mild pneumonia”the presidency reported this Friday.
Lula, 77, is at the official residence of Alvorada in Brasilia after undergoing medical examinations on Thursday night, which detected the ailment. “For this reason, she will postpone the start of her trip to China until Sunday,” according to an official note.
This Friday, the leftist president underwent a new evaluation and received medical clearance to travel on Sunday, the chief minister of the Communications Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta, confirmed to AFP.
“The general picture of the president is good, he is stable, medicated and he should travel on Sunday,” said Roberto Kalil Filho, the doctor who examined him, to the G1 news portal.
Two meetings with ministers scheduled for this Friday were initially cancelled, but Lula finally He had a meeting in the afternoon with part of his cabinet and parliamentary leaders in Alvorada.
The president “is very well” and “very motivated”Brazil’s Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta told reporters after the meeting. The minister pointed out that Lula, who this week had an intense schedule with visits to four states in the country, suffered “physical fatigue.”
He also indicated that the head of state will remain at rest throughout Saturday and will continue with the prescribed medication, which he did not specify.
Lula’s visit to China
Lula was scheduled to embark on Saturday for Beijing for a state visit that will officially begin on Tuesday, March 28, when a meeting with his Chinese counterpart is scheduled. Xi Jinping. “The president’s official agenda, which begins on the 28th, is maintained,” a source from the Brazilian Presidency stressed to AFP.
The president’s trip is focused on promote exchanges with Brazil’s first trading partner and seek Beijing’s support for its proposal to create a group of mediating countries to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The visit to the Asian giant is expected to close his third month in office, after having previously visited other priority capitals for Brazil, such as Buenos Aires and Washington.
The veteran leftist leader will be accompanied by a bulky delegation of more than 200 businessmen -a hundred from the agricultural sector-, in addition to governors, senators, deputies and at least six ministers.
With Xi, Lula plans to talk about the war in Ukraine and about “trade, investment, reindustrialization, energy transition, climate change, cooperation agreements,” according to the Brazilian Presidency.
Brasilia seeks a “relaunch of bilateral relations” with China, after four years of diplomatic disagreements with the Asian power under the management of the far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
In addition to Beijing, the president plans to travel to Shanghai and end his visit on the 31st, when he will travel to the United Arab Emirates.
Lula’s health
Lula’s health has been a cause for concern in recent years. Last November, Lula, who already governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, underwent a procedure for the extraction of a injury to the larynx.
The president, who often has a hoarse voice, was diagnosed with cancer in the larynx in 2011 and a tumor was removed. Since then, medical results have shown complete remission of the cancer.
Source: Ambito
