Márcia Wonghon
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Recife - Federal Deputy Miguel Arraes, president of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), will be submitted today (8) to his tenth session of hemodialysis. This procedure has been conducted daily since last week in the hope of restoring the functions of the deputy's kidneys, which are not functioning, and to remove excess liquids from his body, mainly from his lungs.

The PSB's press adviser, Evaldo Costa, informed that Arraes' clinical state continues to warrant intensive care by the medical team that is accompanying the ex-governor of Pernambuco.

The most recent tests indicate that Arraes, who has been hospitalized for 53 days in the Esperança ("Hope") Hospital, is free of the infection he had in his lungs and shows no signs of new hemorrhaging. His sedatives were reduced, and, since the weekend, the deputy has been able to communicate with his physicians and family members through gestures.

Translation: David Silberstein