SAO PAULO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ’s kidney function has improved but he will remain in an intensive care unit because of pneumonia, a hospital in the capital, Brasilia, said on Sunday.

The 70-year-old former leader has also been given more antibiotics since Saturday, according to a statement by his doctors.

Bolsonaro, who governed between 2019 and 2022, was taken to DF Star Hospital on Friday from the prison where he is serving a 27-year sentence for leading a coup attempt in 2023.

The embattled ex-leader was transferred from the local federal police headquarters to a larger cell in January. His family and allies have repeatedly asked Brazil’s Supreme Court to allow him to carry out his sentence under house arrest.

The right-wing leader has been hospitalized multiple times since being stabbed at a campaign event before the 2018 presidential election.

The hospital, which admitted Bolsonaro with high fever, sweating and chills, has also said that his inflammatory markers are increased.

His son Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator, is expected to run for president later this year against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Jair Bolsonaro was also convicted on charges that include leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of the democratic rule of law. He has denied any wrongdoing.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Keep Reading

Chile's President Jose Antonio Kast and his wife Maria Pia Adriasola wave to supporters from the balcony of La Moneda presidential palace after his inauguration in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Credit: AP

Featured

Jason Hughes, a Hall County math teacher, was run over and killed March 6, 2026, after a group of teenagers toilet-papered his yard, officials said. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

Credit: GoFundMe