Defeated right‑wing presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro departed Brazil for the United States on Tuesday, flouting a Supreme Court order that barred him from leaving the country after his loss to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The 45‑year‑old senator was ordered on Monday to surrender his passports, and both his Brazilian and diplomatic passports were subsequently cancelled, according to a police source cited by AFP. Despite the cancellation, he travelled to Florida using an Italian passport he has held since 2023, as confirmed by an Italian parliamentary document. The U.S. State Department announced it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, though it did not verify the travel plans.
What did the Supreme Court order?
The court instructed Bolsonaro to hand over all travel documents and warned that any attempt to leave the country would be considered a violation of the order. No formal record of his exit has been logged, and authorities are monitoring the situation closely.
How did the United States respond?
The U.S. State Department said it would process visas for Bolsonaro and his relatives, but stopped short of confirming whether he had already boarded a flight.
Campaign manager Rogerio Marinho expressed bewilderment at the reports, telling reporters in Brasília, "We still don’t have any news about his whereabouts. I received a text this morning saying he would wait a while and then talk to us, and that was it. That was the only communication we had."
Flavio Bolsonaro later posted a video on Instagram claiming the travel ban was a "scare tactic". He said, "I never had any intention of leaving the country. I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty," emphasizing his willingness to face the legal process.
The election, held on Sunday, saw Lula secure 51.8 % of the vote, while Bolsonaro’s share fell short, prompting the junior Bolsonaro to threaten legal challenges over the extension of polling hours that both camps had requested due to transportation and weather disruptions.
In the broader context, Jair Bolsonaro, who remains under house arrest for alleged coup‑plotting after his own 2022 defeat, has not conceded his loss and left Brazil briefly before returning three months later. Flavio’s brother Eduardo, a former lawmaker now residing in the United States, has close ties to the White House and recently advised his sibling to consider leaving Brazil if he lost the election.
On the same day, the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into alleged foreign funding of Flavio Bolsonaro’s campaign and possible external interference, including social‑media manipulation. Lula’s campaign has accused Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, of algorithmic bias, a claim the tech giant denies, noting that some of Lula’s ads were mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.
Overall, the episode underscores the heightened political tension in Brazil following a tightly contested election and the legal battles that are likely to continue as both sides seek to shape the post‑election landscape.