Hope Vanishing for Neves; Machines Keep Him Alive

Doctors have exhausted all treatments for Brazilian President-elect Tancredo Neves, whose condition deteriorated sharply Sunday after his seventh operation in a month, his spokesman said.

“The president is in a practically irreversible state,” Antonio Brito said.

A medical source at Clinicas Hospital said, “There is not the slightest possibility he could survive if the machines were switched off.

“His condition was already grave, but this morning there have been significant new problems,” the source added.

An aide said the situation for Neves, 75, who is on a respirator and a kidney machine, is critical and that doctors told the president-elect’s entourage there was nothing they can do to try to reverse the decline.

Neves suffered more setbacks Sunday when the ability of his lungs to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream worsened and an increase of bacteria in his bloodstream led to fluctuations in his heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure. These were partially repaired by drugs, the source said.

As word of Neves’ worsening condition reached the crowd of well-wishers outside the hospital, many fell to their knees, weeping openly for the man they had hoped would usher in a new era of democracy after 21 years of military rule. Two jeeps and a truckload of troops arrived at the hospital to bolster security, witnesses reported.

Neves has undergone 29 hours of surgery since an emergency abdominal operation only hours before his scheduled inauguration March 15 stopped him from taking power as Brazil’s first civilian president since a 1964 coup.

Neves problems were compounded because he tried to delay surgery until after his inaugural and because doctors initially held off unpleasant, postoperative catheters to avoid causing him discomfort, sources said.

The last operation on Thursday was the most dangerous, as surgeons struggled for six hours to remove three abdominal abscesses. Doctors had said that operation would prove a success if Neves developed no new problems over the weekend.

Neves’ illness has depressed Brazil’s financial markets, with Vice President Jose Sarney failing to dispel concern that the promised new democratic republic has ground to a halt. Since the military stepped down a month ago, Sarney has held only one Cabinet meeting with the ministers that were chosen by Neves.