Brazil’s defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country’s rightful leader, after fleeing to the United States to start a self-imposed exile.
Bolsonaro’s defiance on arrival in Florida signaled continued upheaval for Brazil, where leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a dramatic runoff election Sunday. “There is no evidence of that. “I will lead the opposition from here.
US President Donald Trump’s hard-right administration has strong links to Bolsonaro and his father Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest in Brazil after attempting to overturn his own electoral loss to Lula in 2022. A police source told AFP that Bolsonaro’s Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been canceled, but the senator has also held Italian nationality since 2023, according to Italian documents seen by AFP. The 45-year-old, who lost to incumbent Lula da Silva in Brazil’s presidential elections on October 25, added that he will continue to lead the opposition in the country from the US.
“I am the elected president, and the criminals who stole Brazil’s election are part of a criminal organisation that has established a tyranny,” Bolsonaro said in the statement published on his X account, slamming “electoral fraud. “The Liberal Party cannot make that claim,” he said. officials have requested chief of cabinet Diego Santilli to provide details to parliament, according to opposition lawmaker Agustin Rossi While Argentinian authorities said he was carrying valid travel documents. Earlier reporting noted: Flavio Bolsonaro claims he is the ‘elected president’ of Brazil after arriving in US; vows to lead opposition from abroad Brazilian right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro issued a statement after arriving in Florida Wednesday saying that he is the “elected president” of Brazil . Earlier reporting noted: “I am the elected president, and the criminals who stole Brazil’s election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny,” Bolsonaro said on X. Earlier reporting noted: The US said that Bolsonaro and his family will be granted political asylum in the country.
However, he distanced himself from Bolsonaro’s statement, and refused to back up Bolsonaro’s claims of electoral fraud.
“I will lead the opposition from here,” he said. In a subsequent statement, he revised his claim, saying he is the “leader,” rather than “president.
