Lula seen walking for the first time after surgeries

(Patria) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva posted a video on Instagram on Friday showing him walking for the first time since being rushed to the hospital earlier this week, providing visual evidence of a delicate recovery, Reuters reported.

The 79-year-old leftist, known simply as Lula, underwent two surgeries at the Sirio-Libanes hospital in Sao Paulo to alleviate and prevent bleeding in his skull.

The health problems he has suffered, now in his third consecutive term as president, have raised doubts among political analysts, with some claiming that succession plans within Lula's Workers' Party would be in disarray if he could not run again in 2026.

Watch the video HERE

The president's spokesperson on Thursday dismissed any concerns that his health or age would hinder Lula's expected bid for re-election.

In the Instagram video, Lula appears with bandages on the top of his head and on his arm as he chats casually with his wife, Rosangela da Silva, and Dr. Marcos Stavale, who led the surgery.

The video was released hours after a medical note from the hospital stated that Lula was in "semi-intensive care" and had "remained lucid, eating normally, and walking the corridors".

Doctors operated on Lula for about two hours on Tuesday to drain bleeding between his brain and the meningeal membrane, which they said was related to a fall at his home in late October.

Lula underwent a second procedure on Thursday, embolization of the middle meningeal artery, aimed at reducing the risk of further bleeding in the future. Later, a fluid collection in his head was removed without complications.