US State Dept to grant Flavio Bolsonaro and family entry visas

Flavio Bolsonaro, Senator from Brazil and candidate in Sunday’s presidential election, has left Brazil after being ordered to surrender his passports, as requested by the Brazilian Supreme Court. The US State Department will grant entry visas to Flavio and his wife and two daughters. Bolsonaro's father is on house arrest after losing the presidential election to Lula da Silva in 2022. Flavio lost to Lula on Sunday.

According to Reuters, three sources have indicated that Bolsonaro has left the country, with one source saying that he and his family have already arrived in Florida. Bolsonaro has refused to concede the election to incumbent Lula da Silva, the leftist incumbent president.

“The State Department will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States,” according to a senior State Department official.

President Trump, when asked on Wednesday whether he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the US, said, “well, I would approve. I think they’re fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It’s gotten bad reviews. You look what happened to their market.”

He added, “I think it’s so terrible to see it. I didn’t take sides, you know. I know them both. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit. I know the father very well. The father was treated really badly. I thought, but I wasn’t involved. That’s Brazil. It’s a different country.”

“I was summoned to hand over my passports, and I am also prohibited from leaving the country,” Bolsonaro said on Monday. The order was signed by Lula ally Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes is an opponent of free speech, and banned X in Brazil.

As of Monday, Bolsonaro had said that he did not intend to leave Brazil, saying, “I have never thought of leaving the country,” adding, “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me.”

“We are surprised by the news because, just yesterday, we discussed the need for Flavio-given the 60 million votes he received-to take on this role as leader of the opposition,” said Senator Rogerio Marinho, his campaign manager.

After the election, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to turn in his passports to authorities, related to a money-laundering investigation in which Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing. Bolsonaro was ahead in the first round of voting and lost to Lula da Silva by 51.48% to 48.21%, about 4 million votes, after a controversial last-minute decision by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin, Lula’s former personal attorney, to keep open polling locations that hadn’t already been shut down.

This prompted some electoral lawyers to say that the vote could be annulled if it were determined that polling stations in areas that strongly favored one candidate over another were able to stay open while others were not able to remain open.

Flavio’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is currently serving a 27-year sentence on house arrest for allegedly plotting a coup after refusing to concede to Lula in 2022. Trump has previously said that Jair Bolsonaro was a victim of judicial persecution.