After landing in US, Flavio Bolsonaro declares himself Brazil’s rightful leader

• Flavio Bolsonaro said he is Brazil’s “elected president” and claimed his Oct 25 defeat came from an “electoral coup d’etat” by Lula and the Supreme Court.
• He gave no evidence for fraud. International observers said the vote was fair.
• After refusing a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports, Bolsonaro left Brazil for Miami with his family and thanked Trump and Milei for helping him leave.

RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who arrived in the United States on Oct 28, has declared himself the rightful leader of Brazil, alleging an electoral coup d’etat had been carried out by the country’s Supreme Court and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the presidential election by over four million votes.

Bolsonaro, who lost the Oct 25 presidential election and left Brazil for Miami, where he and his family received US visas.

He thanked Argentine leader Javier Milei for helping him make the journey and US President Donald Trump, who granted him and his family entry visas, for welcoming him.

In an initial open letter posted on X, Bolsonaro declared himself “the elected president”. He then deleted that version, and updated with another letter in which he said he was the rightful “leader” of Brazil.

“I want to say, not only to my 60 million voters but to the Brazilian people, that I am the leader and that the criminals who stole Brazil’s election are part of a criminal organisation that has established a tyranny,” he said in the updated version.

Lula’s victory has been recognised by Brazil’s federal electoral court, global leaders, international observers, and Bolsonaro’s own party.

Brazil’s election took place in full compliance with legal and constitutional requirements, electoral authority chief Kassio Nunes Marques said in a statement, without referencing Bolsonaro’s letter.

Asked by reporters at Joint Base Andrews about Bolsonaro’s comments, Trump declined to comment, reiterating earlier views on how it was “a very strange election”.

Problem for Washington

Bolsonaro’s comments pose a problem for Washington as it seeks to navigate a rift with Latin America’s largest country, home to the world’s second-largest reserves of rare earths.

Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to help return them to power. Ahead of the Oct 25 election, Reuters reported on a US State Department campaign to restore the Bolsonaros to office.

Washington has denied trying to interfere in Brazil’s domestic affairs. Trump has previously alleged Flavio’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution.

Jair Bolsonaro travelled to the United States after refusing to concede defeat to Lula in 2022. He eventually returned to Brazil but was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia.

There was no immediate response from the State Department.

Neither Lula’s office, the federal electoral court nor the Supreme Court immediately responded to requests for comment.

Lula, who was himself jailed on corruption charges that were later overturned, said this week that it was “shameful” Bolsonaro had not stayed in Brazil to prove his innocence.

No proof

Bolsonaro left Brazil in secret after the Supreme Court issued the order, which relates to a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing.

Bolsonaro, who had been widely expected to win the Oct 25 election, did not provide evidence for the alleged electoral fraud. I

Bolsonaro based his rejection of the result on the fact that a Lula-appointed Supreme Court justice had extended voting by two hours on Oct 25 due to Lula campaign allegations of voter suppression in left-leaning north-eastern states.

However, Bolsonaro’s campaign also sought an extension due to rains in conservative southern states.

Bolsonaro lost to Lula by around 4.5 million votes. Fewer than 35,000 votes, or some 0.03% of the total, were cast in the extra two hours of voting ordered by ​the Supreme Court, according to an analysis by Insper professor Pedro Burgos.

Analysts say Bolsonaro’s request to annul the election result faces little chance of success.

In his letter, Bolsonaro denied fleeing Brazil, saying he had left to protect himself and his family, and avoid being the victim of a witch hunt he accused Lula and the Brazilian Supreme Court of carrying out.

“I want to make this clear: I did not flee Brazil,” he said. “I left Brazil, but I did not abandon the Brazilian people.” REUTERS