Flavio Bolsonaro can stay in the United States as long as he wants. This was stated by US President Donald Trump to journalists at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
„He can stay here as long as he wants. I think the elections were a disgrace, and he was treated very unfairly“, said Trump. The US president added that he has no plans to meet with Bolsonaro at the moment.
Bolsonaro arrives in Miami after the election defeat
Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on October 28 with his wife and two daughters. According to the Associated Press, the trip took him through Argentina and Ecuador after he left Brazil.
Bolsonaro lost the runoff to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by about 4.4 million votes. The winner was re-elected, while his rival refused to recognize the result and demanded the election be annulled.
After the vote, Bolsonaro claimed, without providing evidence, that the election process was flawed. In a later address, he initially declared himself the “true elected president of Brazil“, then changed the definition to “leader of Brazil“.
Court order and investigations in Brazil
The departure from the country took place after the Supreme Court of Brazil ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports and not to leave the country. He is being investigated on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.
President Lula da Silva described his departure as “shameful“ and stated that Bolsonaro could have remained in Brazil and proven that the charges against him were unfounded.
The US State Department announced that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family would be issued US visas. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration did not facilitate his departure.
“We did not facilitate anything. We learned that he had arrived in the United States. He already had a visa, and the president made a decision to allow him into the country,“ Rubio said.Flavio Bolsonaro will lose his senatorial seat on February 1, 2027, when the new Brazilian parliament begins its term.
Sources: apnews.com, noticias.uol.com.br