Flávio Bolsonaro says he will run again, denies fleeing Brazil after defeat

File photo: Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro sits for an interview

Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro has brushed aside criticism over his departure for the United States after losing last month's presidential election, saying he is prepared to run again. In an interview with Reuters in Washington on Thursday, Bolsonaro dismissed accusations, including those made by Lula, that he had fled Brazil after the October 25 election. He described the “fugitive” label as an attempt to discredit him and said he believed leaving the country had been necessary. The move has nevertheless drawn public disapproval. A Quaest opinion poll found that 62% of Brazilians disapproved of his decision to leave after Lula defeated him by more than four million votes.

Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, said he expected economic difficulties to undermine Lula's fourth term, arguing that high household debt, weak business investment and what he called an unfair legal system were putting pressure on Brazil. “If a new electoral race emerges, I am ready to return,” he said, adding that he intended to contest it under the banner of the right-wing Liberal Party. He offered few details about his standing within the party or how he planned to rebuild support after leaving Brazil.

The senator also repeated allegations of electoral fraud without providing evidence, despite Brazil's electoral court declaring Lula the winner and Bolsonaro's political allies accepting the result. He acknowledged that legal challenges to the outcome were unlikely to succeed, but accused the judiciary of being influenced by the government. Asked about an earlier letter in which he had initially described himself as “president-elect” before changing the wording to “leader”, Bolsonaro avoided directly claiming the title and instead shifted responsibility of his words onto the people who had voted for him in the elections. “To millions of Brazilians, that's who I am,” he said.

US stay and questions over his departure Bolsonaro's visit to Washington comes as questions remain over how he and his family travelled to the United States. Brazil's Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender his passport before his departure, citing money-laundering investigations and concerns that he could flee. He travelled with his family through Argentina and Ecuador, but declined to tell Reuters who helped arrange the journey. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on October 31 that Washington had not been directly involved. However, Reuters and other media outlets subsequently reported that White House official Jason Miller had helped organise the trip. Bolsonaro declined to discuss the circumstances of his departure. He said he was not afraid of being investigated but believed he would not receive fair treatment in Brazil. He also said he had not met US president Donald Trump since arriving in Florida and denied that Washington or any other foreign government had interfered in Brazil's election. Bolsonaro expressed gratitude to Trump, who said on October 31 that the senator could remain in the United States for as long as he wanted. Trump had called Brazil's election “a disgrace”, although outside observers described the vote as free and fair.

In a separate appearance at a right-wing gathering at Trump's Mar-a-Lago property last week, Bolsonaro told attendees that his electoral defeat was not “the end for Brazil”. His effort to remain politically relevant has, however, drawn questions from analysts about whether he weakened his position by leaving the country rather than leading the opposition from Brazil. Bolsonaro said he had not decided whether his family would remain in Florida. He added that he had the financial means to support himself in the United States as a senator, lawyer and businessman, but declined to say whether he had transferred money there.