Flávio Bolsonaro reaches Florida after leaving Brazil following election defeat

Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida with his family after leaving Brazil following his presidential election defeat, then issued a statement calling himself the country's "president-elect". In his first public remarks since departing, he accused President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government of political persecution and electoral fraud. He subsequently reposted the statement with clarifications, referring to himself as the "leader".

Bolsonaro addressed Brazilians and the international community in the lengthy post on X, thanking Argentine President Javier Milei for his support and President Donald Trump for receiving him. He pledged to continue leading from abroad and compared his circumstances to those of political figures who went into exile, including Charles de Gaulle, José Martí and María Corina Machado. He said leaving Brazil had not been his intention and portrayed the situation as following a coup playbook.

The family reached Opa-locka Airport near Miami early Wednesday. Uniformed officers accompanied them to a vehicle, using large umbrellas that blocked the view of waiting journalists. Argentina's migration authority said the family had entered Argentina from Brazil late Tuesday through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge crossing in Misiones province, carrying valid documents and facing no legal obstacle to entry.

According to the Argentine authority, Bolsonaro and his family boarded a private aircraft at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday with a flight plan listing Guayaquil, Ecuador, as its destination. A senior U.S. administration official had said Tuesday that the State Department would grant the family visas to enter the United States. Earlier, Bolsonaro's campaign manager, lawyer and other political allies had said they were unaware of his whereabouts.

Bolsonaro, a conservative ally of Trump, lost Sunday's election to Lula by more than four million votes, despite having won the first round three weeks earlier. His Liberal Party has recognized Lula's victory, but Bolsonaro has declined to concede. His departure came amid several Brazilian investigations, including allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies.

Brazil's Supreme Court had instructed Bolsonaro on Monday to turn over his passports within 24 hours and prohibited him from leaving Brazil. In a video that day, he said federal police had approached him outside his father's home and demanded the documents. He characterized the order as intimidation and said he would surrender his passports and defend himself. His father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest after receiving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula.

Trump has repeatedly questioned Lula's victory, calling the election "rigged" on Monday without presenting evidence. Speaking at a Texas campaign rally Tuesday night, he again raised Brazil's vote while accusing Democrats of electoral fraud.

Lula criticized Bolsonaro's departure while celebrating his 81st birthday with supporters in Brasília on Tuesday. He said Bolsonaro could have remained in Brazil to contest the allegations against him, expressed regret over his departure and called it "shameful". Lula also criticized the family's relationship with the Trump administration, describing the United States as their first home and Brazil as their second.