In short
- Flávio Bolsonaro, a far-right Brazilian senator, lost Sunday’s presidential run-off to the incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters entered Argentina at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in Misiones province and boarded a Baires Fly S.A. flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador.
- A Brazilian supreme court justice cancelled Bolsonaro’s passport minutes after the election result, and he missed an 11am Tuesday deadline to hand it to the federal police.
- Brazil’s federal police are investigating Bolsonaro over possible involvement in a money-laundering scheme worth about £680m ($905m) involving betting companies.
- Lula called the departure “shameful” and said: “He who owes nothing, fears nothing.”
Flávio Bolsonaro, the far-right Brazilian senator, has reportedly left Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential run-off to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who called the departure “shameful”. Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said Bolsonaro crossed into Argentina with his wife and two daughters late on Tuesday and boarded a private flight to Ecuador.
What has Argentina confirmed about Bolsonaro’s route?
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said the family entered the country through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge border crossing in Misiones province and boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, 260km (160 miles) south-west of the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, at 11.30pm on Tuesday. The flight was operated by the company Baires Fly S.A., the agency said. “They did so with valid travel documentation and without any legal impediment to entering the country,” the directorate said on X. “Furthermore, the transits were recorded by the competent authority without incident.”
Where is Flávio Bolsonaro reported to be heading?
The Brazilian news site Metrópoles, citing people close to the family, reported that Bolsonaro was flying to the United States, would land in Florida on Tuesday afternoon and planned to request political asylum. “The Donald Trump administration has been informed,” Metrópoles reported. A spokesperson for the US State Department said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted visas “to allow their entry into the United States”. Brazilian and Argentine outlets described differing routes and timings, and it was not clear whether the plane to Ecuador was the one the family intended to take onward to the US.
How did Lula respond?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won a fourth term with 51.79% of the run-off vote on Sunday, condemned the departure at an event in Brasília marking his 81st birthday. “This is what the family Bolsonaro are like. Brazil is their second homeland. Their first homeland is licking the boots of the US, as he’s become accustomed to doing,” Lula said. “I keep imagining what’s on the conscience of a citizen who just lost the elections and flees his country … He who owes nothing, fears nothing. A citizen who sneaks out of his country owes something. The act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”
Why was his passport cancelled?
Bolsonaro, who had led Lula as the contest went to a run-off, had not been seen in public since Monday. A supreme court justice cancelled his passport minutes after the election result in a ruling related to a criminal case, and the senator missed an 11am Tuesday deadline to surrender the document to the federal police. Federal police are investigating him over possible involvement in a money-laundering scheme worth about £680m ($905m) involving betting companies. Bolsonaro has held Italian citizenship since 2023 and reportedly has an Italian passport.
What happens to the Bolsonaro family’s political movement?
Lawmakers from Lula’s Workers’ party have asked the supreme court to order Bolsonaro’s arrest and requested that his name be added to Interpol’s Red Notice list. Bolsonaro has not conceded defeat. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest for attempting a coup, and his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro is in self-imposed exile in the United States with an outstanding arrest warrant in Brazil, having been sentenced to four years in prison for trying to interfere in his father’s trial. Exile has recurred in the region’s politics: María Corina Machado returned to Venezuela after 10 months in exile.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Flávio Bolsonaro now?
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration confirmed that Bolsonaro crossed into Argentina with his wife and two daughters and boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Brazilian and Argentine outlets reported that he intended to travel onward to Florida and request political asylum in the United States.
Why was Flávio Bolsonaro’s passport cancelled?
A Brazilian supreme court justice cancelled the senator’s passport minutes after the election result in a ruling related to a criminal case. Federal police are investigating him over possible involvement in a money-laundering scheme worth about £680m ($905m) involving betting companies, and he missed a Tuesday 11am deadline to hand over the document.
Who won Brazil’s presidential election?
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s run-off. Bolsonaro has not conceded defeat.
Has anyone asked for Bolsonaro to be arrested?
Lawmakers from Lula’s Workers’ party asked the supreme court to order Bolsonaro’s arrest and requested that his name be placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list. A US State Department spokesperson said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted visas to enter the United States.
With reporting from The Guardian.
Stock image, not from the events described. Globe World — Jo%E3o%20Silas / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)