Brazil: Flávio Bolsonaro arrives in Florida and vows to "lead the opposition"

Brazilian far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Wednesday, October 28, three days after losing the presidential runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, even though Brazil's courts had ordered him to hand over his passports. From the United States, he vows to "lead the opposition."

According to RFI, he landed at Opa-Locka airport near Miami on a private plane with his wife Fernanda and their two daughters. He reportedly left Brazil via Argentina and Ecuador. Argentina's Security Ministry, however, denied that he had entered the country, according to the Associated Press, and a senior Brazilian Federal Police official told Reuters he did not pass through any regular migration point.

A departure despite the Supreme Court order

Lula won the Sunday, October 25 vote with more than 64 million votes, against fewer than 60 million for his opponent, according to AP; RFI puts his share at 52 percent. That same day, a Supreme Court order tied to a money-laundering investigation and issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes required him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. He was served on Monday, October 26, with a deadline of noon on Tuesday, October 27.

In a video, Flávio Bolsonaro had said: "I never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and I will defend myself from this aberration." The deadline passed without the handover and his passports were canceled on Tuesday, according to Reuters and RFI.

Washington opened the door. "The State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States," a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, as quoted by AP. Donald Trump said he would approve their coming, calling the family "very fine people," according to RFI.

"I am the leader"

The senator has not conceded and alleges, without evidence, electoral fraud. "I am the leader," he said in a statement reported by RFI, presenting himself as the "true president of Brazil." He compared himself to General de Gaulle, who "led France from London" during World War II. Lula called his rival's flight "shameful."

In Brazil, Flávio Bolsonaro is the target of two Supreme Court investigations for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, according to AP. One concerns millions of dollars he allegedly received from a disgraced banker; in July, Justice André Mendonça added him to the investigation into the 61 million reais that Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of Banco Master, allegedly paid to fund "Dark Horse," a film about his father, according to Agência Brasil. He denies any wrongdoing and says it was private sponsorship.

His Senate term, which guarantees that he is tried by the Supreme Court, expires on January 31, 2027. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also took refuge in Florida after his 2022 defeat; he is now serving, under house arrest, a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup.