Flavio Bolsonaro flees Brazil for Miami after presidential runoff loss

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday with his wife and two daughters, days after his defeat in Brazil's presidential runoff. Argentine immigration officials said the family crossed into Argentina late Tuesday, boarded a private flight to Ecuador and then continued to the United States, landing at Opa-Locka Executive Airport.

The U.S. State Department confirmed it will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing their entry. The move follows a Supreme Court order that required Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports amid a money-laundering and currency-evasion probe involving him and associate Willer Tomaz.

President Donald Trump, who has not publicly acknowledged Brazil's election result, described the vote as “rigged” without providing evidence, while also expressing admiration for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Brazilian political analyst Paulo Roberto de Souza said Bolsonaro's departure could spark a power struggle within the right-wing, noting that the loss marks a historic setback for the Bolsonaro family. He added that future presidential tickets are unlikely to feature a Bolsonaro family member, though they may still play endorsement roles.

In a press conference after the election, Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the result, citing a Supreme Court decision that extended polling hours by two. Official records show the extension added fewer than 35,000 votes, far short of the 4.4-million-vote margin that gave Lula the victory.

Voters in São Paulo expressed disappointment, with one describing Bolsonaro's flight as “cowardly” and another calling it “a joke, like a parasite fleeing through the sewer.”

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, a close ally of Bolsonaro, posted a video outlining his own political agenda and mentioned Flavio only briefly, positioning himself as a leading figure in the reorganization of Brazil's right-wing.