Flávio Bolsonaro flees to US after stunning election defeat, Brazilian President Lula da Silva calls it ‘shameful’ | Today’s news
Flávio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian senator and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the country’s presidential election on Sunday, has fled to the United States. Local media in Miami said Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Tuesday, adding that he was welcomed by his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has been living in the US since last year after moving there to lobby President Donald Trump.
The 45-year-old Flávio, like his father in 2022, did not concede defeat in the presidential election with incumbent President Lula securing a historic fourth term with 51.8% of the vote. While Bolsonaro initially called for the election to be annulled, citing a Supreme Court ruling that extended the voting period, Valdemar Costa Neto, president of his Liberal Party, issued a statement saying the party was taking note of the results of the second round.
The US is harboring Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro has not been seen in public since the election results, and a senior State Department official said earlier on Tuesday that the US would grant him and his family visas.
The younger Bolsonaro, who faces multiple criminal investigations in Brazil, was ordered to surrender his passports to federal police by Tuesday but failed to do so.
Bolsonaro’s campaign manager, Rogerio Marinho, expressed shock at reports that the defeated candidate had fled Brazil.
“We still have no news about his whereabouts,” he told reporters in Brasilia on Tuesday.
“I got a text from him this morning where he said he was going to let some time pass today and then talk to us and that was it,” Marinho said.
“That was the only communication we had.
Jair Bolsonaro fled to the US after his defeat in 2022
In 2022, his father Jair also fled to the US to avoid arrest after his supporters allegedly attempted a coup after the election defeat. However, he returned to Brazil a few months later and was subsequently banned from public office for eight years for spreading false claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system before the election. Jair is currently serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. Flávio campaigned on a promise to free his father.
What did Lula say
Bolsonaro, who had the support of US President Donald Trump, was investigated in Brazil for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion and was ordered to surrender his passport.
Responding to reports of Bolsonaro’s flight from the country, President Lula called the act “shameful”.
“A person who sneaks out of his country must have something to hide. Leaving Brazil is shameful,” he said.
