Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro says court banned him from leaving country
Summary
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday from Rio de Janeiro that a Supreme Court justice had ordered him to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving Brazil. He had lost the presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the previous day and refused to concede. Bolsonaro said he would seek to annul the result and organize opposition to Lula’s government.
Key Facts
- Bolsonaro received 48.2 percent of the vote, compared with 51.8 percent for Lula.
- Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering related to financing a biopic about his father, Jair Bolsonaro, and denies wrongdoing.
- Bolsonaro said the passport order stemmed from a statement by his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, that Flavio would have to leave Brazil if he lost the election.
- Bolsonaro argued that extending voting hours on Sunday favored Lula, although he had also requested the measure.
Brazil's right-wing senator and presidential candidate for the Liberal Party (PL) Flavio Bolsonaro gestures on arrival for a campaign meeting at Itanhanga neighborhood, in the southwest zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Oct. 9. AFP-Yonhap
RIO DE JANEIRO — Flavio Bolsonaro on Monday said a Supreme Court justice had banned him from leaving Brazil, one day after he lost the country's presidential election and refused to concede defeat.
The right-wing senator received 48.2 percent of the vote compared to 51.8 percent for incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"I was served with an order to hand over my passports and I am also banned from leaving the country," he said in a video posted to Instagram.
Bolsonaro, the son of jailed ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro, denounced "a clear attempt to intimidate me."
The senator is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering during the financing of a biopic about his father. He denies any wrongdoing.
The 45-year-old said the decision to seize his passport stems from a statement made by his brother, US-based former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, that Flavio would have to leave Brazil if he lost the election.
"I never said that," the defeated candidate insisted in the Instagram video.
Bolsonaro reiterated that he would seek to annul the election, arguing that an extension of voting hours on Sunday favored Lula, despite having also requested the measure.
He also promised to lead the resistance to Lula's government, however.
"To withstand the chaos, I'm going to organize the opposition," Bolsonaro said.
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