Flavio Bolsonaro Reportedly Flees Brazil for US After Losing Election to Lula

Brasilia: Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro has reportedly left the country for the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who called the move shameful.

The news website Metropoles, citing people close to the family, reported that Bolsonaro was on a flight to Florida, due to land on Tuesday afternoon, and planned to seek political asylum, adding that the Trump administration had been informed. Folha de S Paulo said allies confirmed the trip and that a lawyer close to the family had arranged the escape, while CNN Brasil reported that he left with his wife and two daughters. A US State Department spokesperson said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted visas.

Speaking at an event marking his 81st birthday in Brasilia, Lula said the Bolsonaros treat Brazil as a second homeland and are loyal first to the United States. He argued that someone with nothing to hide has nothing to fear, and that leaving after an election defeat was shameful.

Bolsonaro had not been seen since Monday and missed a Tuesday-morning deadline to hand his passport to federal police. A Supreme Court justice had cancelled the passport minutes after the result in a case in which he is investigated over an alleged money-laundering scheme worth about £680 million involving betting companies.

He holds Italian citizenship and reportedly has an Italian passport. Reports suggest he crossed into Argentina and meant to board a private jet, with police checking Argentine records because no Brazilian immigration entry exists. Lula’s Workers’ Party lawmakers asked the Supreme Court to order his arrest and to seek an Interpol Red Notice.

Previously, Bolsonaro, who has not conceded, said in a video that he never thought about leaving.

The reported flight deepens uncertainty over the far right. His father, Jair, is under house arrest for attempting a coup, and his brother Eduardo, in the US, faces an arrest warrant. Analysts say a power vacuum may open on the right, with figures such as Michelle Bolsonaro and Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas possible contenders. Flavio won 48.21 per cent of the vote.