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Bolsonaro's passports cancelled after election defeat and disappearance

Summarised from 8 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 17:33 · Archive

Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro's passports have been cancelled after he failed to surrender them following his election loss.

Flávio Bolsonaro lost Sunday's presidential runoff election to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in what outlets describe as a shock result, as he had been expected to win. Following the defeat, a Supreme Court justice ordered him to surrender his passports within 24 hours as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, which Bolsonaro denies.

On Monday, Bolsonaro posted a video saying that police had ordered him to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving Brazil. In the video, he stated: 'I never thought about leaving the country' and questioned whether the measure was justified. However, by Tuesday morning, when the deadline expired, Bolsonaro had not been seen and did not comply with the order. Brazilian Federal Police cancelled all of his passports, including his diplomatic passport.

The senator's whereabouts remain unknown. His allies and family members said either that they did not know where he was or declined to say. The Guardian reports that allies in the Bolsonaro family's inner circle had been told that he had left for Argentina and intended to travel to the United States.

Argentine news outlet Infobae reported that Bolsonaro had arrived in the Argentine town of Puerto Iguazú at 2 am on Tuesday, using his national identity card, and was preparing to board a private Gulfstream G400 aircraft to the United States. However, Argentina's National Directorate of Migration denied this, saying there was no record of Bolsonaro entering Argentina. Argentina's government also rejected the claims. Todo Noticias reported that the senator had crossed into Argentina on foot and abandoned plans to board the plane once his movements became public.

Brazilian Federal Police are investigating whether Bolsonaro crossed the border into Argentina. As there is no record of him passing through any official Brazilian immigration checkpoint, authorities are attempting to establish from Argentine counterparts whether there is any record of him entering the country.

Bolsonaro has not officially conceded defeat. On Sunday, he said he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities, though his Liberal Party acknowledged Lula's victory on Monday. The senator is under investigation not only for alleged money laundering but also for alleged corruption over the financing of a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. The Supreme Court has also ordered police to probe his electoral campaign over alleged foreign funding.

Bolsonaro's situation echoes that of his father, who moved to the United States after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022. Jair Bolsonaro eventually returned to Brazil but was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. On Friday, two days before the election, Eduardo Bolsonaro, the senator's brother who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, argued that his brother should leave Brazil if he lost.

Bolsonaro's passports cancelled after election defeat and disappearance
Image: Independent World

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How it is being reported

In this story: Flávio Bolsonaro · Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva · Jair Bolsonaro · Brazil · Argentina · Liberal Party · Brazilian Federal Police

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log