Brazil Leader in ‘Very Grave Condition With His Life in Danger,’ Doctors Say

President-elect Tancredo Neves, weakened by six operations in 25 days and suffering from severe breathing problems, was in “very grave condition with his life in danger,” doctors said Wednesday.

Neves, 75, has undergone five abdominal operations and a tracheotomy since March 15, when he was rushed into surgery hours before he was to be inaugurated as Brazil’s first civilian president in 21 years.

Vice President Jose Sarney is acting president and probably would be confirmed as president if Neves dies, although political analysts question his ability to win a working consensus in Latin America’s largest nation.

“We should not delude ourselves. The president-elect is in very grave condition with his life in danger,” said Dr. Guilherme Rodrigues, director of the Clinicas Hospital where Neves is being treated.

Rodrigues said the medical team treating Neves was using radioactive isotopes to search the leader’s abdomen for possible infection points. He said the president-elect’s lungs were impaired and he was able to use only 40% of his lung capacity.

Neves underwent minor surgery to improve his breathing Tuesday but about three hours after doctors performed the tracheotomy to insert a tube in his windpipe, he suffered a violent reaction to a local anesthetic.

Doctors said his pulse rose to 160 beats a minute and his temperature dropped to 95.4, more than 3 degrees below normal. One doctor said Neves went into a “pre-coma condition.”