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
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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