International
Age, health on the ballot in Brazil’s Bolsonaro-Lula runoff
AFP | Pascale Trouillaud
One is a 67-year-old who has been in and out of hospital over the past four years for gastric problems. The other is a 76-year-old ex-smoker and cancer survivor.
But both far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are bending over backwards to project an image of youthful energy as the grueling campaign for Brazil’s October 30 presidential runoff election enters the home stretch.
Battling for every last vote, the current and former presidents both face scrutiny over their age and health.
The issue has gained prominence in a relatively young country — median age: 32.8 — where many voters are frustrated over the lack of new options, given that the clash pits the man who has led Brazil for the past four years against the one who led it for eight in the 2000s.
A scroll through the candidates’ social media accounts betrays their campaigns’ concern, with numerous pictures and videos of the rivals — both grandfathers — looking vigorous as they straddle horses, a bull, jet skis and motorcycles (Bolsonaro) or hit a punching bag, lift weights, play the drums and pose in a Speedo-style swimsuit (Lula).
‘Spring chicken’
The age issue is most sensitive for Lula, who turns 77 three days before the runoff.
The veteran leftist, who served two terms from 2003 to 2010, has indicated he would not seek a fourth.
“I have four years to get everything done. Everyone knows an 81-year-old can’t possibly want to be re-elected,” he said in September.
But he has simultaneously laughed off the age issue as he runs his sixth presidential campaign.
“I’m a spring chicken compared to Joe Biden,” who was inaugurated as US president at 78, Lula quipped last year.
Lula, who smoked for five decades before quitting in 2010, was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx in 2011.
The ex-metalworker underwent chemo and radiation therapy, and doctors declared him in “complete remission” the following year.
But his gravelly voice has grown even hoarser on the campaign trail, to the point Brazilians struggle to understand him at times.
“I’m going to have to stop talking (for) a month to recover,” jokes the twice-widowed former president, who married 56-year-old Rosangela “Janja” da Silva in May.
Smelling blood, opponents have attacked.
“Lula is physically and psychologically weaker by the day,” center-left rival Ciro Gomes posted online in August ahead of the October 2 first-round vote, in which he placed fourth, behind Lula (48 percent) and Bolsonaro (43 percent).
Gomes later backtracked, deleting the post and saying he had been “very harsh.”
Bolsonaro backers have been particularly virulent online questioning the ex-president’s health.
Lula has been at pains to prove his doctor’s assessment that he has “the health of a bull,” crisscrossing the country giving fiery speeches, and hopping up and down at rallies.
“I wake up every day at 5:30 am to work out,” beams Lula, who says he started running nine kilometers a day when he was controversially jailed in 2018 on corruption charges — since overturned.
“I want to live to be 120.”
Stabbing after-effects
A decade younger, Bolsonaro has had his share of health issues, too.
The ex-army captain, who was stabbed in the abdomen at a rally during the 2018 campaign that won him the presidency, has had recurring problems ever since.
As president, he has been hospitalized multiple times for intestinal obstructions and undergone six surgeries since 2018: four stemming from the attack, one to remove a bladder stone, and a vasectomy.
When he was last rushed to the hospital, in January, his surgeon, Antonio Luiz Macedo, said the president arrived “crying in pain” and saying, “I’m going to die.”
Macedo said the problem was a shrimp the president swallowed without chewing.
During his hospitalizations, Bolsonaro maintains an active presence on social media, posting pictures of himself flashing a thumbs-up from bed or visiting with First Lady Michelle, 40, the twice-divorced president’s third wife.
His eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said after the last hospital stay that doctors had told his father he needed a regime of permanent dietary restrictions.
But the president has stuck to unhealthy eating habits, according to media reports.
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(FILES) (COMBO) This file combination of pictures created on October 4, 2022, shows Brazilian former president (2003-2010) and candidate for the leftist Workers Party (PT) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (top) waving as he leaves the polling station after voting during the legislative and presidential election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 2, 2022, and Brazilian President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro waving during a motorcade on the eve of the presidential election, in Sao Paulo, on October 1, 2022. - But both far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are bending over backwards to project an image of youthful energy as the grueling campaign for Brazil's October 30 presidential runoff election enters the homestretch. One is a 67-year-old who has been in and out of hospital the past four years for gastric problems. The other is a 76-year-old ex-smoker and cancer survivor. (Photo by ERNESTO BENAVIDES and CAIO GUATELLI / AFP)
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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