Bolsonaro family to enter U.S. after 4.4 million-vote loss

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP). The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that Flavio Bolsonaro and his family will receive visas allowing them to enter the United States. The decision came after the Brazilian senator lost a runoff election to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva over the weekend. A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under visa privacy laws, stated that the department would issue the visas and permit entry. The official did not specify if Bolsonaro had already departed Brazil or was currently traveling to the U.S.

Bolsonaro had received tacit support from U.S. President Donald Trump during the campaign. Trump suggested on Monday that the Brazilian election was rigged, though he did not provide evidence. This stance differed from Trump’s full endorsements of other right-of-center candidates in the region. Bolsonaro had visited the White House in May, highlighting his relationship with the American president. His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who resides in Texas, had publicly encouraged Flavio to leave Brazil if he lost the race. Eduardo was convicted in absentia in June for illegally lobbying the Trump administration and was sentenced to four years in prison, with a warrant recently issued for his arrest.

The visa announcement arrived as a deadline for Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday. A sealed Supreme Court order, viewed by The Associated Press, was issued Sunday and served to Bolsonaro on Monday. At that time, he was outside the home of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup. Jair Bolsonaro had previously fled to Florida after his 2022 defeat before returning to Brazil three months later. It remained unclear whether Flavio Bolsonaro had complied with the passport surrender order.

Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, secured more than 64 million votes in the election. Bolsonaro received fewer than 60 million votes, resulting in a margin of nearly 4 percent. This gap represents a difference of 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud. To overturn the result, he must present evidence affecting the vote margin and convince the eight-member electoral court before results are certified on Dec. 18. The electoral court has never previously nullified the candidacies of a president and vice president.

In a video posted Monday, Bolsonaro stated he had no plans to leave Brazil and was organizing opposition among his congressional colleagues. He said, “I never thought about leaving the country,” and described the passport order as a clear attempt to intimidate him. His eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027. Losing his Senate seat would also cause him to lose special jurisdiction at the country’s Supreme Court. Bolsonaro initially asked for the results to be annulled after chaos at polling places led authorities to extend voting by two hours.

Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion in two separate cases. In one case, he is accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions. In the other, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker. He has denied wrongdoing in both instances and claims Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is heading one investigation, is an ally of Lula. Prosecutors suspect the banker’s funds were used to pay Eduardo Bolsonaro’s expenses and to promote Flavio Bolsonaro’s political agenda with the Trump administration.

Mauricio Marcon, a lawmaker from Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, questioned de Moraes’ objectivity on Tuesday. He noted that the justice ordered the passports seized seven minutes after the election. Marcon said Bolsonaro would continue to be their leader in a free country. Reporters gathered outside Bolsonaro’s home in Brasilia on Tuesday, but he did not appear. A spokesperson for Argentina’s Ministry of Security denied reports that he had entered that country. Many of his allies reported being unable to reach him. Paulo Figueiredo, a close ally living in the U.S., said he had no desire to speak with the press at that moment.