Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday after he refused to concede defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and left the country.
Brazilians divided after defeated candidate Bolsonaro flees to US
Journalists gather outside the residence of Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential election, in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026.
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In a circuitous journey, Bolsonaro departed for Argentina on Tuesday with his wife and two daughters before travelling to Ecuador, according to Argentine officials and flight data.
The 45-year-old senator and his family arrived in Florida a day after the Trump administration granted them US visas.
His departure drew mixed reactions in Rio de Janeiro.
“Personally, I would have done the same thing, because the persecution here is severe,” said Andréia Cunha, a 50-year-old sales manager.
Alessandro Almeida, a 48-year-old maintenance worker, described Bolsonaro’s departure as “an act of cowardice.”
“He should be facing the consequences here, not abroad,” Almeida said.
Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, visited the White House in May.
His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula, before returning to Brazil three months later.
Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court over allegations of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.
The court had ordered him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports by noon on Tuesday.
In a video dated Monday, Bolsonaro challenged the order, saying it was based on his brother Eduardo’s suggestion that he leave the country if he lost the election.
“I never said that. Is that grounds for taking away my passport? Is that justice?” Bolsonaro said.
It remained unclear whether he had complied with the order, but allies said late Tuesday that he also holds an Italian passport.
Trump said early Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States, describing him and his family as “fine people.”
“The election was really strange, and I thought it was terrible,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after campaigning in Texas on Tuesday. He did not elaborate but stressed that he did not endorse the election result.
Leaders around the world and the Organization of American States have endorsed the result and congratulated Lula, who was reelected by a margin of about 4.4 million votes in the second and final round.