NPR reports the United States will issue visas to defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family even as Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country. Early Wednesday, Argentina’s migration authority said in a social media post that Bolsonaro and relatives crossed from Brazil into Argentina late Tuesday, then boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. NPR said his current whereabouts had not been independently confirmed.
What Washington said
On Tuesday, a senior U.S. administration official said the State Department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, according to NPR.
Border entry and private flight
Early Wednesday, Argentina’s migration authority posted that at 10:50 p.m. on Oct. 27, “citizens Flavio Nantes Bolsonaro, Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro, and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro entered through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge border crossing in the province of Misiones.” The authority added that at 11:30 p.m., the group “boarded a private flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador,” according to the flight plan. NPR reported that Bolsonaro’s location had not been independently confirmed.
Court order and investigations
NPR reports that on Monday Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports within 24 hours and barred him from leaving the country. The outlet says he faces multiple investigations in Brazil, including allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies. In a video released that day, NPR reports Bolsonaro said, “I never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this aberration,” calling the order an attempt to intimidate him.
Election result and reactions
According to NPR, Bolsonaro, a conservative politician and ally of President Donald Trump, lost Sunday’s presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by more than four million votes—Lula with just over 51% (about 64.2 million votes) and Bolsonaro with more than 48% (nearly 59.8 million)—three weeks after winning the first round. NPR says Bolsonaro has refused to concede, though his Liberal Party recognized Lula’s victory. NPR also notes that Brazilian media reported he had left for the United States before Argentina’s migration post surfaced.
NPR reports Trump suggested without providing evidence that the Brazilian election was “rigged,” including at a rally in Texas. During birthday celebrations in Brasília, NPR reports Lula criticized Bolsonaro’s reported departure, saying, “Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear… He could have stayed and proven that the accusations [against him] are not true,” and added, “Brazil is their second home; their first home is the United States.”
NPR further reports that the order against Flávio Bolsonaro followed comments by his brother Eduardo, who lives in self-imposed exile in Florida, suggesting Flávio should leave Brazil if he lost. NPR also reports former president Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest after being sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup following his 2022 defeat by Lula.
