Flávio Bolsonaro Declares Himself "True President" From Miami

Flávio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian senator, has declared himself the "true president" of Brazil after losing the presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The claim appeared in a letter published about seven hours after he landed in Miami, Florida, with his family on Wednesday morning, according to the Guardian.

The runoff, the final vote between the two leading candidates, was held on Sunday, 25 October. Brazil's first round had taken place on 4 October, and both men advanced from it.

Bolsonaro's whereabouts after the vote drew attention. Argentina's migration authorities said he entered Argentina by land on Tuesday night, after being out of contact for more than 24 hours. Allies last saw him at about 6pm on Monday, and his movements on the way to the border are unclear.

Bolsonaro then boarded a Gulfstream IV private jet, registration LV-JQW, that had been parked at Puerto Iguazú airport since the early hours of Tuesday. At about 11:30pm he took off with his wife and two teenage daughters, bound for Guayaquil in Ecuador. Reports said the route was chosen to avoid Brazilian airspace. After a brief stop in Ecuador, the plane continued to Miami-Opa Locka airport, where it arrived at 9:24am on Wednesday. The family left under police escort in a dark gray Ford Expedition MAX.

Brazilian newspapers reported that the family had been granted humanitarian visas, which are issued on grounds of hardship rather than as ordinary travel permission. Donald Trump said on Tuesday night that he would approve the family's move to the United States.

In his letter, Bolsonaro thanked Argentina's President Javier Milei, as well as Trump and the American people, for welcoming him. He also repeated, without evidence, a claim that the election was marred by fraud. Brazil's supreme court has rejected that claim.

Bolsonaro's own party has recognised Lula's victory, as have all of Brazil's institutions and the international observers who monitored the vote.

Lula called the flight "shameful" at an event in Brasília marking his 81st birthday. Some in the Brazilian government suspected that Bolsonaro's allies spent Tuesday telling the press he was already on his way to the US, a move they believed was meant to distract from a plan to go through Argentina. Brazil's federal police have faced criticism for failing to prevent Bolsonaro from leaving the country.