Flávio Bolsonaro's claim to be 'leader of Brazil' fails to win over his own allies after he flees to Miami
Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed ex-president Jair, abandoned his demand for annulment of the result by Monday, pledging instead to lead the opposition.Flávio Bolsonaro routed his escape flight through Guayaquil, Ecuador, to avoid Brazilian airspace after the Supreme Court cancelled his passports for ignoring a deadline to surrender them.
Trump personally arranged Flávio Bolsonaro's entry into the United States on immigration parole — normally reserved for humanitarian cases — after a White House official organised the private jet that flew the defeated Brazilian candidate to Miami. Bolsonaro lost Sunday's runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by 4.4 million votes and left Brazil after the Supreme Court ordered his passports seized amid a money-laundering investigation.
Bolsonaro's own party has recognised Lula's victory, and Brazil's three main newspapers ridiculed his 'leader of Brazil' claim as 'coup-mongering'.
He first published a letter styling himself 'the elected president', then took it down and reposted it with the reduced claim of 'leader' — a retreat that still failed to bring his allies behind him.
Brazil's benchmark stock index, the Ibovespa, shed close to 14% when markets opened after the election — a market verdict Trump called 'terrible'.
