Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil's 25 October presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by more than 4 million votes, fled the country and appeared publicly for the first time in the US on Thursday at a gala dinner hosted by the Conservative Political Action Conference at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property.
Speaking at the event, the 45-year-old politician told attendees "I know this wasn't the end for Brazil and I know it wasn't the end for America," adding "Even when what seems like the end isn't what we'd hoped for, we must thank God and have even more faith that this isn't yet the end."
In his first post-election interview, given to the New York Times, Bolsonaro made unsubstantiated claims about election fraud. He said he received "help from absolutely no one" to flee Brazil, telling the newspaper "It was all me." This contradicts reports that Trump adviser Jason Miller and Santiago Caputo, a close aide to Argentine President Javier Milei, assisted his departure.
Bolsonaro said he would "take to the grave" the full story of his flight. He faces federal police investigations in Brazil for money laundering and corruption and will lose parliamentary immunity early next year when his congressional term ends, exposing him to potential prosecution. He told the New York Times he would "obviously" be a candidate in future elections but said his future lay in the US "at least for now."
Bolsonaro is the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, who received a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup and is banned from running for office until 2060. Four other Bolsonaro family members were elected to congress in October's election. His brother Eduardo lives in self-imposed exile in the US and faces a four-year sentence for coercion if he returns.
Brazilian political analyst Thomas Traumann said Flávio "was foolish enough to throw away the leadership of the opposition that he could have exercised had he stayed in Brazil," though he noted "the [Bolsonaro] family is still a player." Political scientist Sérgio Abranches told O Globo that the Bolsonaro movement was "mortally wounded because of its mistakes and its crimes."