Brazil | Election loser Bolsonaro withdraws

Flávio Bolsonaro has resigned. Photo: AFP/RICARDO ARDUENGO Miami.  According to US media, the loser of the Brazilian presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro, has landed in the United States after his spectacular escape from Brazil. He got off a private plane at Miami airport with his wife Fernanda and daughters Carolina and Luiza, as seen on television. The US State Department had previously announced that it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry, as a government official told the German Press Agency.

According to Argentine authorities, the senator traveled by land to the neighboring country despite a travel ban and from there flew to Ecuador. From there it apparently went on to Miami in the US state of Florida.

Bolsonaro had failed to comply with an order from Brazil's Supreme Court to surrender his passports within 24 hours. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who was hated in right-wing circles, had Bolsonaro's passports invalidated and banned him from leaving the country. Just two days after his defeat, Bolsonaro, who sits as a senator in the Brazilian parliament, has now fled abroad.

Flávio Bolsonaro is the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup. In addition, the former head of state is no longer allowed to hold public office, which is why his son Flávio ran in his place in the election. Flávio's brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who was also a politician in his home country, has been in the USA for a long time. There is an arrest warrant against him in Brazil. Eduardo had repeatedly pushed for sanctions from Washington against Supreme Court judges during his father's criminal trial.

The travel ban against Flávio Bolsonaro was issued as part of an investigation against the right-wing politician and the lawyer Willer Tomaz. This concerns suspected money laundering in connection with companies and online sports betting. According to their own statements, the federal police found evidence of Bolsonaro's connection to a bank account belonging to the company of a lawyer who was also accused. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing.

After his election defeat, Bolsonaro declared that he would give up his passports and defend himself against what he considered to be unjustified measures. He denied having any plans to leave Brazil. The 45-year-old attributed the order to a statement made by his brother Eduardo, who lives in the USA. Before the election, he had advocated that Flávio leave the country in the event of an election defeat. 

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized the senator's departure, which had not yet been confirmed at the time. "I wonder what guilt a citizen has on his conscience who has just lost the election and is fleeing his country," said Lula at a celebration of his 81st birthday in the presidential palace. "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear." Lula also complained about Bolsonaro's lack of respect for his voters and democracy.

Bolsonaro's departure comes at a politically sensitive phase. According to the electoral court, in the runoff election on Sunday he lost with 48.2 percent of the vote to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who received 51.8 percent. His right-wing party has already recognized Lula's election victory. Bolsonaro himself announced on Monday that he wanted to have Lula's campaign management legally examined. He wants to ensure that Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin are not allowed to be sworn in during the election campaign because of alleged abuse of political and economic power. He did not explicitly admit his defeat.

US President Donald Trump also raised doubts about the process and outcome of the vote. "I didn't take sides, but it seemed like another manipulated election," the US President told journalists. "You know, elections have to be incontestable, and to me it looked very bad." He left open the basis on which Trump doubted the official election results. The Republican still does not want to acknowledge his own defeat in the 2020 US presidential election, even though his allegations of fraud have since been refuted countless times.

Trump clearly supported Flávio's father Jair Bolsonaro in the conflict with Brazil's judiciary. Trump sharply criticized the former president's conviction. Although he and ex-military man Jair Bolsonaro are considered political allies, the US president held back from publicly supporting his son Flávio during the election campaign.

Flávio Bolsonaro is also being investigated in another case regarding the financing of the film “Dark Horse”. The planned film biography is about his father's political life. The focus of the investigation is payments made by former banker Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of the Banco Master financial institution, to the film production. The federal police are investigating Vorcaro for financial crimes worth billions and allegations of corruption. According to the police, around 61 million reals (around 10 million euros) are said to have flowed. Flávio Bolsonaro denies irregularities and speaks of private financing. dpa/nd

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