Brazil's President-elect Lula Begins Transition Preparations, Denies Health Rumors

Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, President-elect of Brazil
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Luis In?cio Lula da Silva (77), who succeeded in becoming Brazil's first president to win a third term, began preparations for the transfer of power on the 8th (local time).

The Lula transition team announced that Lula, who spent about a week on vacation in Bahia with his wife Ros?ngela Lula da Silva, started preparations for the transfer of power in Bras?lia along with Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and others.

The transition team denied the rumors about Lula's health issues that spread mainly online after the presidential election, stating that they are "completely unfounded."

Recently, posts suggesting that Lula's health was not good have been continuously shared on local Brazilian online communities and social media. Specific claims, such as "Lula was hospitalized in a S?o Paulo hospital due to brain or heart problems," circulated widely. The day before, search terms like "Lula hospitalization," "Lula cancer," and "Lula heart attack" ranked high on portal site search lists.

Regarding this, a close aide of President Jair Bolsonaro, who competed against Lula in the presidential runoff, also recently stated that the rumors about Lula's health issues are "unfortunately not true."

Lula, who turned 77 just before the runoff vote, was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2011 after completing his presidential terms from 2003 to 2010, but was fully cured the following year. Since then, the only publicly known health issues were his COVID-19 diagnosis in 2020 and a hoarse voice during this year's election campaign.