Petista will be the oldest president to hold the position from February 2024, when he will overtake Michel Temer
The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) turns 78 this Friday (27.Oct.2023). Born in 1945, he was the oldest to assume the Presidency of the Republic in the history of Brazil, in 2022. He is also the 2nd oldest head of government in the G20 – a group that brings together the world’s main economies. He is second only to Joe Biden, from the United States, who is 80 years old.
In February 2024, he will become the oldest president in office, surpassing Michel Temer (MDB), who was 78 years and 3 months old when he left command of the Executive in 2019.
At the end of his 3rd term, Lula will be 81 years old. The possibility of running for reelection has not been ruled out, which could leave the PT member in power until he is 85 years old.
Lula’s health
Despite being stable today, Lula’s health has experienced some problems since taking office in Planalto in January. On February 25, the PT member underwent an MRI on his pelvis, spine and lower back at the Hospital Sírio-Libanês, in Brasília. On March 25, he canceled his trip to China to recover from bacterial and viral bronchopneumonia caused by the influenza A virus.
At the end of September, the president needed hip surgery due to osteoarthritis in his right leg. The disease is wear and tear on the joint, which in Lula’s case affects the one between the hip and the femur. Understand how the procedure works:
Lula took advantage of the procedure and had plastic surgery on the same day. She removed the excess skin on his eyelids, which, according to his doctor Roberto Kalil, sometimes hindered the PT member’s vision.
The 2 procedures were successful and uneventful. Lula was released from the hospital 2 days ahead of schedule. He spent 3 weeks in the Palácio do Alvorada to avoid infections and dedicate himself to physiotherapy. But in the same week of surgery he was able to walk and climb some stairs. In the 2nd week he already had official commitments and returned to working remotely.
Before the 3rd presidency
Lula was a smoker for 50 years. In 2010, he was hospitalized with a hypertension crisis, which caused him to stop smoking. In 2011, he had laryngeal cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was considered cured in 2012.
The cancer ended up producing a loss of muscle in the legs and reduced their mobility. After recovering from the illness, Lula began practicing physical exercises, mainly to regain movement in his lower limbs.
Before assuming the presidency, Lula maintained an exercise routine in “strong rhythm”according to the president’s communications team. When I lived in São Bernardo do Campo, for example, I worked out regularly in the morning, walking on the treadmill and doing weight training.
The PT member also practiced boxing. He shared all these activities on his social media profiles.
Lula was imprisoned for 1 year and 7 months at the Federal Police Superintendence, in Curitiba, and even during all these days he never got sick and continued practicing his exercises. In May 2018, 1 month after his arrest, the Federal Court of Paraná authorized the entry of an ergometric treadmill into Lula’s special room. At the time, he walked 9 km a day.
The president interrupted the almost daily custom in 2022, especially after starting to live in a hotel in the central region of Brasília.
Lula has also been infected by the covid-19 virus twice: in December 2020 and in June 2022, but he did not have serious symptoms.
#2nd #oldest #leader #G20 #Lula #turns #Friday