Flavio Bolsonaro’s self-exile declaration draws ridicule and divisions on Brazil’s right

Flavio Bolsonaro’s attempt to position himself as Brazil’s political leader from the United States has triggered ridicule, disapproval and unease within the conservative camp, according to the South China Morning Post. The 45-year-old senator fled Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and arrived in Florida after travelling through Argentina and Ecuador. Brazilian authorities had ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports because of several ongoing investigations, the South China Morning Post reported.

NPR also said he and his family had arrived in the United States after the order. Sky News described his departure as a late-night flight to Miami after his election defeat. Soon after arriving, Bolsonaro published a statement on social media declaring himself the “true president” of Brazil.

He revised the wording minutes later, calling himself the country’s “leader”. An ally who published an earlier version using Brazil’s former coat of arms said that design had appeared because of a ChatGPT error, according to the South China Morning Post. The statement was met with hostile reaction in Brazilian media.

The South China Morning Post reported that commentators described its tone as coup-mongering, while politicians from across the political spectrum called for the election result to be respected. Social media users turned the episode into a viral wave of mockery, including posts claiming to be the “true president” of Twitter or the winner of the next lottery. Tarcisio de Freitas, the governor of Sao Paulo and a former minister under Jair Bolsonaro, quickly distanced himself.

“We are democrats. The election result is sovereign. What we have seen is the will of the majority of the population, which must be respected,” he told the Estadao newspaper, according to the South China Morning Post.

De Freitas also said a 2030 presidential run was a possibility. Rogerio Marinho, who coordinated Flavio Bolsonaro’s campaign, said there was no evidence of electoral fraud. Kassio Nunes Marques, the electoral court chief and a Supreme Court justice appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, issued a statement highlighting the security of Brazil’s electoral process.

Flavio Bolsonaro has said he will direct the opposition from abroad. Political scientist Geraldo Monteiro told the South China Morning Post that the move was calculated to preserve his influence over conservatives, but questioned whether he could lead effectively from outside Brazil. The right nevertheless retains substantial institutional strength: Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party will have the largest number of seats in Congress from February.

Monteiro said the declaration had created a divide between those offering extreme loyalty and those unwilling to enter another putschist confrontation. The South China Morning Post also reported that Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup after his 2022 election loss to Lula, remains under house arrest. Liberal Party leader Valdemar Costa Neto visited him and said afterward that “no one approves” of Flavio Bolsonaro’s letter and that the party needed to move forward.