Bolsonaro Declares Victory In Election After Fleeing Brasil

Bolsonaro Declares Victory in Election After Fleeing Brazil BRAZIL Brazil Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro alleged electoral fraud in the presidential election and declared himself the rightful “leader” after fleeing the country and arriving in the United States on Wednesday. Bolsonaro claimed that the election had been stolen by the victor, incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in what was a sharp turnaround by the candidate who had essentially accepted the results of Sunday’s runoff election. “On Sunday night, I was stunned by the electoral fraud that became reality before my eyes,” he wrote on X. His private plane, which departed from Argentina and stopped in Ecuador, landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. His whereabouts had been unknown since Sunday’s election, in which Lula won 51.8 percent of the vote. A court order had barred him from leaving the country. Brazil’s Supreme Court is investigating Bolsonaro for allegedly accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker, as well as using a sports betting corporation to launder public money from government pensions. Also, earlier this week, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered a police investigation into alleged ties between a donor network co-founded by Vice President JD Vance and Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign, the Washington Post reported. Following his defeat, his parliamentary immunity was set to end. He had been ordered to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. Meanwhile, a senior US State Department official announced Bolsonaro and his family would be granted US visas. Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his defeat to Lula in the 2022 presidential election. He also fled to the United States after his defeat before returning to Brazil soon after. Following the release of the election results, Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the vote, citing last-minute court decisions to extend polling hours due to weather and transport problems that prevented some voters from reaching the polls. Both Bolsonaro and Lula had requested these extensions. Lula has not commented on the electoral fraud allegations. Kassio Nunes Marques, chief of the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court, defended the election result as “respecting all legal and constitutional requirements.”