São Paulo, Brazil, Oct. 28 (EFE).- Far-right Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who fled to the United States two days after losing the presidential election, declared himself on Wednesday «Brazil’s true president-elect» in an open letter he posted on social media.
“I want to say, not only to my 60 million voters, but also to the Brazilian people, that I am the president-elect and that the criminals who stole the election in Brazil are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny,” he stated in the letter.
Flávio also called on the international community not to “normalize what is happening in Brazil,” even though Brazilian institutions and the opposition, including Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) recognized the results.
The eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) landed in Miami on Wednesday after leaving Brazil via Argentina with his family.
“I want to make this clear: I did not flee Brazil; I left for Brazil’s sake. I left a state of emergency so that I could be the leader my people deserve,” said the former candidate, who compared himself to France’s Charles de Gaulle, Cuba’s José Martí, and Venezuelan opposition figures Juan Guaidó, Edmundo González Urrutia, and María Corina Machado.
In the letter, Flávio, defeated in the runoff election by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, thanked Argentine President Javier Milei for his “courage” and “sense of justice,” and President Donald Trump for welcoming him to the US.
The far-right senator alleged without presenting any evidence that there was “electoral fraud” in Sunday’s election, in which he received 48% of the vote, compared to Lula’s 52%, with over four million votes.
Bolsonaro claims Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin’s decision to extend voting hours by two hours was «illegitimate» and «illegal,» which allowed Lula to gain more than 10 million votes between the first and second rounds.
After a series of «incidents» on public transportation in certain Brazilian cities, Zanin agreed to extend voting hours at the behest of Lula’s campaign. Bolsonaro’s team also made a similar request, citing heavy rains that hit certain regions.
However, according to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which oversees Brazilian electoral processes, only about 35,000 votes were cast during those two hours, and the difference between Lula and Flávio was four million votes.
Bolsonaro’s son also alleged that “throughout the entire campaign, there was an abuse of political and economic power, as well as the use of public resources to favor re-election.”
“These are serious offenses, expressly prohibited by law, which justify the annulment of Lula’s candidacy,” he added.
He also declared himself a victim of “political persecution” after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him on Monday to surrender his passports within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.
Flávio defied the order and, the next day, fled to Argentina to travel to the United States on a private plane that made a stopover in Ecuador, accompanied by his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro, and their two daughters.
“It was not my intention to abandon my homeland, but I know exactly where this is headed. This is the classic playbook for any coup d’état,” he wrote. EFE
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