Star Metro - Brazil's Lula returns to regular duties after head surgery

Lula "will return to the capital on Thursday after having received medical authorization to take plane trips," the government said in an online statement on X.

The 79-year-old president had been convalescing in Sao Paulo, where he had his surgery last week to stop intracranial bleeding that was putting pressure on his brain.

He was seen leaving the Hospital Sirio-Libanes in Sao Paulo wearing a brimmed hat and giving a thumbs-up, but making no comment to media.

A final medical check-up on Thursday "was extremely satisfactory -- he is well," Lula's doctor, Roberto Kalil, told journalists.

"Quite simply, the hematoma no longer exists," he said.

The doctor added that Lula had been instructed to avoid physical exercise but "obviously he will be able to do normal activities -- his cognition is perfect; he can work."

Another of Lula's doctors, Ana Helena Germoglio, said that Lula was going directly from the hospital to Brasilia, where he would spend Christmas.

Lula had his emergency surgery -- which involved drilling through his skull -- on December 10, after coming down with a headache a day earlier that a scan determined was bleeding in intracranial membranes.

The hemorrhage was linked to a bad fall he suffered on October 19, when he slipped in a bathroom in his presidential residence in Brasilia.

After a follow-up procedure in the hospital on December 12 to prevent blood flow to the area, Lula posted an online video showing him walking through a corridor with Kalil.

On Sunday, Lula was discharged to continue his convalescence in his private Sao Paulo home, pending Thursday's final approval to travel.

- Health issues -

Even with the all-clear, Lula's health has been the subject of concern over years.

He had successful treatment in 2011 for throat cancer, and a hip replacement operation last year.

In the weeks following his October fall, which required stitches to his head, the president skipped planned overseas trips.

But from mid-November he resumed his active schedule, hosting leaders of the G20 grouping in Rio and attending a regional summit in Uruguay.

The succession of problems has cast a shadow over the possibility of Lula running for re-election in Brazil's next presidential polls, in 2026.

Once back in Brasilia, Lula was to participate in a ministerial meeting on Friday.

The president's health scare and recovery comes as his government seeks congressional approval of budget changes that have created unease in the market.

The Brazilian currency, the real, has weakened considerably this year, losing more than a quarter of its value.

Since late November it has been sharply losing ground against the US dollar, which on Thursday was fetching around 6.15 reais.

The depreciation was expected to continue despite Brazil's central bank last week raising its key rate to 12.25 percent -- its third consecutive hike.

Those rate increases, which the bank signaled were likely to continue, are to counter persistently high inflation, which is running at an annualized rate of 4.87 percent, according to the latest data in November.

That is well above the bank's target of three percent, and even above its upper tolerance threshold of 4.5 percent.

But other indicators are doing well in the Brazilian economy -- Latin America's largest -- with growth expected to exceed three percent this year and unemployment at a 12-year low of 6.2 percent.

Nevertheless, investors are worried about the government's ability to impose fiscal discipline, especially in the face of creeping public expenditure.

Lula's government is betting the lower tax take for that segment will be offset by higher imposition on high earners -- but investors appear unconvinced.

F.T. Michaud--SMC