Präsidentenwahl in Brasilien: Wahlverlierer Bolsonaro will Opposition von USA aus anführen

After his illegal departure to the United States, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro criticizes the "despicable electoral fraud" committed by the left and intends to lead the opposition from abroad. Three days after his electoral defeat, the escaped right-wing legal expert landed in the US state of Florida, despite a ban on leaving the country due to money laundering investigations.

He addressed his supporters with belligerent words and blasted the Brazilian justice system, which he sees as a tool of the left-wing president and winner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "I want to clarify: I did not flee Brazil. I left the country in the interest of Brazil and suspended myself in a state of emergency to become the leader my people deserve," Bolsonaro wrote in an open letter to his roughly 220 million fellow Brazilians, posted on the X platform.

In an initial version of the message, the 45-year-old senator even declared himself the "true" and "elected president" of Brazil's largest and most economically powerful Latin American country. However, he quickly withdrew the first version to soften his statements and only referred to himself as "the leader of Brazil" in the revised version.

He noted that "politically motivated witch hunts" had claimed victims before him. He cited Charles de Gaulle, who led the "Free France" movement from London during World War II against Nazi Germany, as an example. "No arrest warrant has been issued against me because I have not committed a crime. What exists is a politically motivated witch hunt," he said, referring to Jair Bolsonaro's 27-year prison sentence in solitary confinement.

Lula's victory, known by this name and internationally recognized, was illegitimate and only achieved with the help of a corrupt justice system, Bolsonaro claimed. Now he wants to ensure from abroad that Lula does not establish a "dictatorial regime" in Brazil. Before his departure to the United States, Bolsonaro ignored a court order to surrender his passports within 24 hours, although he had initially publicly agreed to do so.

He denies the accusations and speaks of political persecution. His right-wing party recognized Lula's electoral victory, albeit with reservations, and only calls for clarification of open questions regarding the electoral process. Bolsonaro thanked right-wing Argentine leader Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump for their support.

Milei allegedly facilitated Bolsonaro's illegal departure to the United States via Argentina. According to Argentine authorities' claims, Bolsonaro traveled across the country on foot and then flew from Argentina to Ecuador. From there, he evidently continued to Miami.