Marcela Ayres
BRAZIL (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to Russia for the BRICS summit on Sunday, following doctor’s advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights after suffering a head injury in an accident at home.
In a statement, the president’s office said Lula, 78, will now attend the BRICS meeting via video conference. Initially, he was supposed to leave on Sunday at 5 p.m.
On Saturday, Lula suffered a laceration in the occipital area on the back of his head, according to a medical report issued by the Sirio Libanes hospital in Brasilia.
The report said Lula “has been advised to avoid long-distance air travel but is otherwise able to perform his usual duties.”
In a post on X, the government said that Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira had been appointed to lead the Brazilian delegation to the BRICS summit, which will depart later on Sunday.
The diplomatic forum, founded 15 years ago by major emerging markets Brazil, Russia, India and China, has since expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Congresswoman Gleisi Hoffmann, chairwoman of Lula’s Workers’ Party, posted on social media that she had spoken to the president and that she was “feeling very well, just avoiding the long trip.”
