Flavio Bolsonaro flies to Miami, claims leadership of Brazil
The former senator arrived in the US on Wednesday after a multi-leg flight, asserting his status as the country's leader despite losing Sunday's presidential vote to Lula.
By Andrew Bennett ·
Brazilian right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday with his wife and two daughters, positioning himself as the nation's rightful leader despite his defeat in the presidential election held on Sunday.
The senator lost the vote to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. While his own party has acknowledged the results and international observers have declared the election fair, Bolsonaro has not conceded. He alleges irregularities in the voting process and has refused to hand over the reins to the winner.
Bolsonaro departed Brazil after the country's Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports to prevent his departure. He holds Italian citizenship, which allowed him to travel despite the cancellation of his Brazilian and diplomatic passports. His journey involved a flight to Argentina on Tuesday, followed by a stop in Guayaquil, Ecuador, before the final leg to Miami-Opa Locka airport.
In a letter posted to X, Bolsonaro addressed his 60 million voters. He stated that he is the leader and accused a criminal organization of stealing the election and establishing a tyranny. He initially called himself the elected president in a first version of the letter but revised the text to use the term leader.
The former senator is currently the subject of criminal investigations by the Supreme Court regarding alleged financial crimes. He describes these cases as a political witch hunt led by left-leaning justices. His immunity from prosecution is set to expire in February when his term in the Senate ends.
On Monday, Bolsonaro posted on Instagram that he had no intention of leaving the country. He said he would hand over his passports and defend himself against what he called a travesty and an attempt to intimidate him. The US State Department has announced it will grant visas to Bolsonaro and his family.
US President Donald Trump declined to respond directly to Bolsonaro's comments at Joint Base Andrews. He repeated his earlier characterization of the Brazilian vote as a very strange election. The elder Bolsonaro, Flavio's father, is currently jailed in Brazil on charges of leading a conspiracy to stay in power after his 2022 defeat.
