BRASÍLIA — Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, says he fled to the United States because he was a victim of “persecution,” and vowed to run for president again “before” the next scheduled election in 2030.
“The persecution began even sooner than I imagined,” the senator said in an Instagram livestream. He secretly left Brazil on Tuesday after police told him his passports were being revoked in a money-laundering investigation, travelling through Argentina and Ecuador before landing in Florida on a private jet, ABC News reported.
He suggested, without giving details, that there had been irregularities in the runoff, and predicted the economy would “go bust” under Lula, who won 51.8 per cent of the vote.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei is believed to have helped the escape, and Washington and Buenos Aires face pressure to explain their roles. A US official said the Trump administration does not plan to back Bolsonaro’s claim to be Brazil’s rightful leader.
Sources: ABC News (Australia), Al Jazeera
—
