Flavio Bolsonaro claims he is the ‘elected president’ of Brazil after arriving in US; vows to lead opposition from abroad

Flavio Bolsonaro claimed to be Brazil’s “true president” after fleeing to Florida, vowing to lead the opposition despite losing to Lula da Silva.

Brazilian right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro issued a statement after arriving in Florida Wednesday saying that he is the “elected president” of Brazil. 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.

Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in the US after fleeing Brazil. (AFP)

"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. "I will lead the opposition from here."

Bolsonaro lost in the elections to Lula da Silva by over 4 million votes. He has continued to question the legitimacy of the elections after Brazil's Supreme Court extended voting by two hours following complaints by Lula's campaign that voters could not reach the polling booths due to problems with public transport. Trump has also disputed Lula's win saying that the election “looks rigged.”

After the election results, the Brazil's Supreme Court asked Flavio Bolsonaro to surrender his passports in relation to an alleged money laundering investigation. A day after, Bolsonaro and his family secretly left for the US and landed Wednesday morning at the Opa-Locka Executive Airport in Miami. AFP reported that the plane arrived in Miami after brief stops at Argentina and Ecuador.

After Bolsonaro's statement about being the "elected president", Trump said that he will not get involved in in the results of the Brazil elections.

"Well I'm not going to make a comment about that, but I know that we gave him a pass to come into the country, so we'll see," Trump said. "But I won't get involved. It was a very strange election that's for sure."

Lula says Bolsonaro leaving Brazil 'shameful'

Lula da Silva said that Bolsonaro leaving Brazil is "shameful" and called the Senator "coward." The 81-year-old spoke to the media Tuesday after learning about Bolsonaro's departure.

“Leaving Brazil is shameful,” Lula said. “I regret that he left Brazil. "He could have stayed and proven that the accusations are not true.”

Lula also took a dig at the Bolsonaro family, especially Flavio Bolsonaro's jailed father, Jair Bolsonaro's relationship with the US. “This is what the Bolsonaro family is like Brazil is their second Nation, the US is the first," Lula said.

Jair Bolsonaro is currently in jail in Brazil serving a sentence of 27 years and three months. He was convicted of plotting a coup against the Lula administration after his loss in the 2022 presidential elections.