Brazil senator politician Flávio Bolsonaro landed in the United States late Tuesday, following his loss in Sunday's presidential election, two US media outlets reported.
The right-wing politician landed in Miami, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, and was received by his brother Eduardo upon his arrival. Eduardo has lived in the US since last year after he moved there to lobby President Donald Trump to help their father, jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, Bloomberg reported.
US President Donald Trump has said he approves of Flavio coming to the US, while calling the election in Brazil “very strange.” “Well, I would approve. I think they're fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It's gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market,” Trump told reporters, according to news agency Reuters.
Flávio was defeated by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won a historic fourth term as president after securing 51.75% of the vote, according to Brazil's electoral court. Flávio secured 48.25% of the votes.
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The right-wing politician made his last public statement through a social media post on Monday, a day after his election defeat, stating that he had been ordered to turn in his passports and was prohibited from leaving the country. The directive, issued by Brazil's Supreme Court, was issued on Sunday following Flávio's defeat.
{{/usCountry}}The right-wing politician made his last public statement through a social media post on Monday, a day after his election defeat, stating that he had been ordered to turn in his passports and was prohibited from leaving the country. The directive, issued by Brazil's Supreme Court, was issued on Sunday following Flávio's defeat.
{{/usCountry}}Flávio is facing multiple criminal investigations in Brazil, and missed the court-imposed deadline to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports on Tuesday. He has refused to concede defeat, and continues to allege election fraud without presenting public evidence. The Bolsonaro family has also long accused Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who demanded that Flávio surrender his passports, of political persecution.
‘Act of leaving Brazil shameful’: Lula da Silva
Brazil's incumbent President Lula da Silva, who won Sunday's elections, said Bolsonaro leaving the country was “shameful.” “A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide. The act of leaving Brazil is shameful,” Lula remarked in Brasilia during his 81st birthday celebration, AFP reported.
Flávio had on Monday claimed he had “no intention of leaving the country”. In a video posted to Instagram, he said that the ban on his exit from Brazil amounted to a scare tactic. He further said he would lead the opposition to the leftist government.
However, on Tuesday, Trump aide Simon Levy claimed on social media that the US administration had authorised political asylum for Bolsonaro. “Lula has followed the advice of former Mexican President, turning his government into an increasingly authoritarian regime that sought to imprison Bolsonaro,” he wrote in the post.
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Bolsonaro and family's connection to US
Flávio Bolsonaro has in the past touted his relationship with Trump, having visited the White House in May this year. However, the family's connections with America, more specifically Trump, run deeper. While the US President did not fully endorse Bolsonaro in the runoff against Lula, he had on Monday suggested, without evidence, that Brazil's election was “rigged”.
Flávio's brother Eduardo Bolsonaro lives in Texas, and had publicly encouraged him to leave if he lost the presidential election, according to AP. Eduardo was earlier convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison.