Just out of hospital, Bolsonaro denies stabbing was politicized

Recently discharged from hospital after two days due to an intestinal obstruction, President Jair Bolsonaro will start a one-week diet and is allowed to go on light strolls and to work, according to a report by Dr. Antônio Luiz Macedo, with the president since 2018.

Still at the hospital, the president talked to journalists. He criticized the suspension of sea cruising on Brazil’s coast on account of COVID-19, denied that government secretary Flávia Arruda was to be fired, once again questioned the security of voting machines, and denied the political use of the stab wound he sustained during an electoral rally, which, doctors say, is linked to the intestinal obstruction episodes and hospitalizations.

“To [those saying] the stabbing was staged… The knife was forced through vessels and veins. People think it’s a hoax. It didn’t bleed because it all goes in. I didn’t want to be here. I was supposed to return to Brasília. To those saying it’s politics, or that I’m playing the victim… You’re kidding me, right?” he questioned.

Voting machines

“The Armed Forces were invited by Justice Barroso to participate in the elections. We agreed to be there throughout the process. And the Defense Ministry sent his remarks to Justice Barroso, of the Superior Electoral Court on the vulnerable points of voting machines. We’re waiting for a reply from the court. We may be convinced. We may be wrong. Now, if we’re not wrong, you can rest assured something has to change at the electoral court,” Bolsonaro argued.

“Brazilians,” Bolsonaro went on, “deserve clean, transparent elections.” “No one has a monopoly on truth in our country. The law will be followed and we’ll have clean, transparent elections, you can be sure of that,” he added. Bolsonaro also said that “votes will be counted.”

Ouster

The president was asked about the alleged pressure to have government secretary Flávia Arruda leave the post. Congress members from center parties are said to have argued for her ouster from the government arguing that she failed to keep the promises of releasing funds. “I appointed Flávia Arruda myself. […] No one is to demand the ouster of an official, as used to happen in the past,” Bolsonaro said.

Cruising

Bolsonaro criticized Brazil’s national drug and sanitary regulator Anvisa for recommending the suspension of the sea cruising season in the country. “Everyone has their eyes on us. Not because we’re nice, but because we have a lot to offer. Brazil is a powerhouse in agribusiness, minerals, and tourism. I was sorry to hear the latest decision on the cruise ships—issued not by my administration, but by Anvisa. Brazil is a powerhouse,” he stated.