Former Brazilian presidential candidate and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost the second round of the presidential election to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, arrived in the United States and declared himself the country’s legitimately elected president. The politician subsequently revised his statement, calling himself the “leader of Brazil,” but continued to refuse to recognize the voting results, Reuters reported.
Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on October 28 aboard a private plane with his wife and two daughters. After the second round of the election on October 25, he left Brazil, first crossing the land border into Argentina and then flying to the United States via Ecuador.
In an open letter published on the social network X, Bolsonaro initially described himself as the “true elected president of Brazil.” However, some time later, he deleted the original version and published a new document, replacing that wording with “leader of Brazil.”
The politician claimed that he had become a victim of alleged fraud in the presidential election and political persecution by the Brazilian authorities. However, he did not present evidence of large-scale irregularities capable of changing the voting results.
In his statement, Bolsonaro also thanked US President Donald Trump for allowing him to enter the country and Argentine President Javier Milei for his assistance during the trip.
The US administration had previously authorized Bolsonaro and his family members to enter the United States. Trump himself, commenting on the Brazilian politician’s statement, declined to assess his claim to the presidency but again described the election as strange.
According to the official results of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE), published on October 26, Lula da Silva won the second round with 64,256,232 votes, or 51.79%. Flávio Bolsonaro received 59,826,041 votes, or 48.21%.
The difference between the candidates amounted to 4.43 million votes.
The voting results were recognized by Brazilian electoral authorities, international observers and the leadership of the Liberal Party, under whose banner Bolsonaro ran.
One of the losing candidate’s arguments concerned the decision by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court to extend polling station hours by two hours. However, according to an analysis of electoral authorities’ data, fewer than 35,000 votes were cast during the additional period, significantly fewer than the final margin between the candidates.
Bolsonaro’s departure came amid an investigation into the politician on suspicion of money laundering. The Supreme Federal Court had previously ordered him to surrender his passports, but the senator left the country without complying with the order. Bolsonaro himself denies allegations of unlawful conduct and claims that he left to protect his family. In the published letter, he also stated that he intends to continue his political activities and lead the opposition from abroad.
The situation could further complicate relations between Brazil and the United States. Lula had previously accused Washington of supporting the Bolsonaro family, while the US administration rejected accusations of interfering in Brazil’s internal affairs.
According to political analysts, Bolsonaro’s presence in the United States could create new opportunities for the international activities of his supporters, but at the same time complicate the management of the opposition movement within Brazil.
Despite the defeat in the presidential election, conservative political forces significantly strengthened their representation in the National Congress, which will preserve their influence over legislative activity and economic policy during the next presidential term.
Flávio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who led the country from 2019 to 2022. Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence in a case involving an attempted coup d’état following his defeat in the 2022 election.
