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Flávio Bolsonaro Flees to US After Losing Election
Confirmed
In Short: Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing the presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro has fled to the United States after losing the presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday. Sources close to Bolsonaro told CNN that he is currently flying to Florida.
Bolsonaro, who is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for alleged acts of corruption, money laundering, and currency evasion, feared arrest in Brazil.
According to a Brazilian source close to Bolsonaro, he had been ordered by the Supreme Court to hand over his passports within 24 hours as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering.
Bolsonaro, however, denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the court's decision was a 'dirty trick' that 'changed the rules in the middle of the game.'
Bolsonaro's lawyer told BBC Brasil that she was 'completely in the dark' and had no information about his whereabouts, adding to the uncertainty surrounding his actions.
Despite losing the election, Bolsonaro's party, the Brazilian Republican Party (PRB), stated that they recognize the election results but believe that 'questions raised about the vote' still need to be clarified.
The election results showed Lula winning with 51.78 percent of the votes, compared to Bolsonaro's 48.22 percent.
Bolsonaro's flight to the United States comes amid speculation that the US government may have played a role in his departure, with leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accusing Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power.
The exact destination and purpose of Bolsonaro's trip remain unclear, with sources indicating that he is headed to Florida but not specifying his plans upon arrival.
What this adds
Flávio Bolsonaro's departure from Brazil is a new development following his loss in the presidential election.
The Supreme Court's order to hand over passports was a significant factor in Bolsonaro's decision to leave the country.
There is no official confirmation from Bolsonaro or his representatives regarding his exact location or intentions in the United States.
Background
Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday's runoff election.
What's confirmed
- A US official told CNN that Bolsonaro is currently flying to Florida.
- Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil and is headed to the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential election, two sources have confirmed to CNN, APA reports.
- Bolsonaro said Monday that police forbade him from leaving the country.
- One regarding possible irregularities in the transfer of nearly $70 million from private bank Banco Master to the film Dark Horse – a biopic of Flávio’s father and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
- On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand his passports over to police within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, which he denies.
- It was not immediately clear where Bolsonaro was heading, what time he would arrive or whether he would seek asylum.
- Fl á vio Bolsonaro has fled to the United States after losing Brazil’s presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil on Sunday, according to multiple outlets.
- In a video Monday, Bolsonaro said he had no plans to leave Brazil.
What's still developing
- According to media reports, Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil headed to the United States, where he’s rumored to be asking the friendly government of President Donald Trump for asylum.
- “The plane is in flight,” Metrópoles reported, without making clear where it had departed from.
- On Monday, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports over fears he might flee the country while under investigation for corruption.
- Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro – and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent.
- Lula said Wednesday he would not attend a debate scheduled to include Bolsonaro and two other candidates.
- Bolsonaro said he received it outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula.
- The right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro has won the first round of Brazil's presidential election, beating the incumbent left-wing President Lula da Silva, but falling short of the outright majority needed to win.
- But the 80-year-old Lula, of Brazil's liberal Workers Party (PT), won decisively, 52% to 48%, to secure his fourth presidential term. (He served two other consecutive terms from 2003 to 2011.) Like most Brazilian expats in South Florida, payment services executive Ronald Wieselberg, of Aventura, a Rio de Janeiro native, voted for Bolsonaro. largely because of Lula’s left-wing economic policies, which critics warn have put Brazil in a fiscal hole, and what he calls Lula's flirtations with anti-semitism.
- Nearly 159 million voters head to the polls as incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, with a runoff scheduled for October 25 if no candidate secures a majority Brasilia: Brazilians began voting on Sunday in a closely watched presidential election dominated by incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his main challenger, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
- Bolsonaro begins from a different reading of Brazil’s interests.
- Populist Flavio Bolsonaro has secured a thin lead over incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but the next president of Brazil will be decided in the runoff round, according to the country’s electoral court.