Flávio Bolsonaro Leaves Brazil After Election Loss, Sources Say
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to two sources cited in the report. His departure followed a Supreme Court order directing him to surrender his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing.
Bolsonaro had been favored to win the election, but Lula secured another term. Bolsonaro has not formally conceded and said Sunday he would seek to annul the result over alleged voting irregularities. His Liberal Party, however, said Monday that it accepted Lula’s victory. The report did not provide evidence supporting Bolsonaro’s allegations about the vote.
The court gave Bolsonaro 24 hours on Monday to hand over his passports. That deadline passed, and the documents were canceled, according to two other sources. A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro had not left through a regular migration checkpoint. The U.S. Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Bolsonaro’s lawyer declined to comment.
The departure could add to tensions between Brazil and the United States. Lula has accused Washington of working with the Bolsonaro family to return it to power. The report also cites earlier Reuters reporting about a U.S. State Department campaign to restore the family to office. The U.S. response to those claims was not included in the report.
Bolsonaro’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, also traveled to the United States after refusing to concede his 2022 loss to Lula. He later returned to Brazil and received a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. Before Sunday’s vote, Flávio Bolsonaro’s brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States, said he favored his brother leaving Brazil if he lost. A Bolsonaro family associate declined to discuss Flávio’s whereabouts.