After stunning election defeat, Flávio Bolsonaro flees to US, Brazil's President calls it ‘shameful’

Flávio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian senator and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the country’s presidential election battle on Sunday, has fled to the US.

Local media in Miami reported that Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Tuesday, adding that he was greeted by his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro has lived in the US since last year after moving there to lobby President Donald Trump.

45-year-old Flávio, like his father in 2022, has not conceded defeat in the presidential election to incumbent President Lula, who secured a historic fourth term with 51.8% of the vote.

While Bolsonaro initially called for the election to be annulled, citing a Supreme Court decision that extended voting hours, Valdemar Costa Neto, president of his Liberal Party, said the party acknowledges the runoff results.

US shelters Bolsonaro

Bolsonaro had not been seen in public since the election results, and a senior State Department official said earlier Tuesday that the US would grant visas to him and his family.

The younger Bolsonaro, who is facing multiple criminal investigations in Brazil, was ordered to surrender his passports to the Federal Police by Tuesday, but he has failed to do so.

Bolsonaro's campaign manager Rogerio Marinho expressed shock over reports that the defeated candidate had fled Brazil.

"We still don't have any news about his whereabouts," he told reporters Tuesday in Brasilia.

"I received a text message from him this morning, where he said he would let some time pass today and then would talk with us, and that was it," Marinho said.

"That was the only communication we had."

Jair Bolsonaro fled to US after 2022 defeat

In 2022, his father Jair too had fled to the US to avoid arrest after his supporters allegedly attempted a coup following the election defeat. However, he returned to Brazil months later and was subsequently barred from holding public office for eight years for spreading false claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system ahead of the election.

Jair is currently serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. Flávio campaigned on a pledge to liberate his father.

What Lula said

Bolsonaro, who had the backing of US President Donald Trump, had been under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil and had been ordered to surrender his passport.

Responding to reports of Bolsonaro fleeing the country, President Lula termed it a "shameful" act.

"A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide. The act of leaving Brazil is shameful," he said.