Flávio Bolsonaro fled to Miami on Tuesday night after losing Brazil's presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by 4.4 million votes. On Wednesday, he published a letter declaring himself "the true president-elect of Brazil" and claiming election fraud. The letter, reportedly drafted with ChatGPT's help, compared Bolsonaro to Charles de Gaulle, José Martí, María Corina Machado and Rui Barbosa. He said he would lead Brazil's opposition from abroad.
Within 58 minutes, a corrected version was issued. It changed his claimed status to "leader of Brazil" after Trump administration officials reportedly objected to avoid a diplomatic rift with Brazil's actual government. The revised letter also replaced an outdated Brazilian coat of arms bearing the name "United States of Brazil," which the country abandoned in 1967.
Brazilian newspapers and commentators responded with scorn. Estado de São Paulo's editorial board called him "a con artist of the highest order" and said his departure from Brazil exposed "a family of coup-mongers." O Globo termed his decision "shameful and sneaky." Flávia Oliveira, a political commentator, said the letter "seems to have been written by a foolhardy, loony halfwit." Silas Malafaia, a televangelist close to Bolsonaro's jailed father Jair Bolsonaro, called the Bolsonaro children "a bunch of amateur morons."
Social media users created memes, including one inviting supporters to Bolsonaro's January inauguration at Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World, Orlando.
Donald Trump has called the Brazilian election "a very great embarrassment" but declined to publicly contest its result, telling reporters "I won't get involved." A US diplomatic cable obtained by Folha de São Paulo called Lula's victory "surprising but definitive."
Lula's victory has been recognised by conservative leaders including El Salvador's Nayib Bukele and Italy's Giorgia Meloni, as well as Bolsonaro's own party and key allies.