Instead of attending Brazil’s inauguration of incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and passing the ceremonial presidential sash — a symbol of a peaceful transfer of power — the departing far-right former president fled to Florida.
Mr. Jair Bolsonaro woke up Sunday thousands of miles away, in a rented house owned by a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter, in Orlando, with plans to stay there for at least a month.
Bolsonaro, like another former president who flocked to Florida, was a Covid denier who undermined medical and government efforts to protect the Brazilian people from the spread of the virus.
After losing his election to Lula, Bolsonaro became an election denier as well, and tried to block his successor from taking office and failed.
Bolsonaro, 67, is linked to five separate inquiries, including one into his release of documents related to a classified investigation, another on his attacks on Brazil’s voting machines and another into his potential connections to “digital militias” that spread misinformation on his behalf.
NYT
A friend of the Bolsonaro family said the plan is to see if the Lula administration will follow through on investigations of Bolsonaro.
The Brazilian government authorized four aides to spend a month in Florida with the former guy, according to an offical government release.
Bolsonaro greeted his new neighbors in Orlando, many of whom were Brazilian immigrants seeking selfies with the former guy.
Bolsonaro then went to eat at a KFC.