Brazilian Senator Major Olímpio confirmed brain dead due to Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Senator Major Olímpio, 58 years old, was confirmed brain dead this Thursday, March 18th, after several days hospitalized with Covid-19. He was admitted to the ICU at São Camilo Hospital in São Paulo earlier this month and required intubation for the second time two days ago.

The politician’s family said that, by law, they will need to wait at least 12 hours to confirm his death and know which organs can be donated.

Major Olímpio (PSL – SP) is the third senator to die victim of Covid-19. The first confirmed death was Arolde de Oliveira (PSD – RJ), 83 years old, in October last year. Senator José Maranhão (MDB – PB), 87, died in February this year.

Friends of the senator had been reporting for days that Major Olimpio had very low saturation and that his clinical condition was not improving. He leaves a wife and two children.

Olímpio was in his first term as senator. He will be replaced by Alexandre Luiz Giordano (PSL), a São Paulo entrepreneur.

Two other senators had been hospitalized with Covid-19. Lasier Martins (PSD – RS) was discharged in Porto Alegre on Thursday. Senator Alessandro Vieira (CIDADANIA – SE)  is also expected to be discharged soon from a hospital in São Paulo.

A state police officer for 29 years, Major Olímpio was elected to state deputy for São Paulo in 2006 and was reelected to the position in the following election. In 2014, he secured his first term as a federal deputy. Known for his fierce opposition to the PT (Workers’ Party), Olímpio became one of the first allies to believe in the candidacy of then deputy Jair Bolsonaro for the Presidency of the Republic. In 2018, he cashed in on Bolsonaro’s popularity and defeated PT’s Eduardo Suplicy to win a Senate seat in 2018.

Following the government’s inception, Olímpio was sidelined by Bolsonaro and severed ties with the president. He became a staunch critic of the federal government’s conduct and the influence that Bolsonaro’s sons exerted over the Planalto Palace.

Olímpio was also a supporter of issues linked to police officers and a political opponent of São Paulo governor João Doria (PSDB). In a statement, the governor extended his sympathy to the senator’s friends and relatives. Bolsonaro has not yet commented.

Source: Veja