Indigenous leader Raoni transferred to São Paulo hospital for treatment

Renowned Brazilian indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, aged 94, has been transferred to a hospital in São Paulo to continue his medical treatment. The move follows his admission to intensive care on Sunday due to serious health complications.

Raoni was airlifted from the Hospital Dois Pinheiros in Sinop, Mato Grosso, to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in São Paulo, a distance of approximately 1,900 kilometers. According to a statement from the hospital, he was lucid, conscious, and breathing spontaneously during the transfer, indicating clinical stability.

He was initially hospitalized in Sinop with a severe infection, respiratory problems, and a stomach obstruction. Doctors performed an endoscopy to diagnose the gastric issues, and he has shown progressive improvement since then. Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people, has been a global figure advocating for the protection of the Amazon rainforest since the 1970s.

His activism gained international recognition through a 1978 documentary and a 1989 world tour with musician Sting. Despite his long-standing advocacy, Raoni has also been critical of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration, citing concerns over the slow pace of indigenous land demarcation and development projects in the Amazon.

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During the transfer, Raoni was lucid, conscious, and oriented, breathing spontaneously and clinically stable.