By Mateo Bueno Sá
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party (PL) from Rio de Janeiro state, told The New York Times that he and his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro, arranged his departure from Brazil after the Federal Police (PF) asked him to hand over his passports. The interview was published Thursday, November 5, and is his first since leaving the country, after days of speculation.
Flávio Bolsonaro on leaving Brazil: details "to the grave"
Flávio, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, said he will take the details of the operation "to the grave." According to him, there was no ready-made plan before the decision. Everything changed when the PF made its request, right after a visit to his father.
The senator described how Jair reacted when he learned of the request. "He looked me in the eyes and said: 'You already know where they want to get with this, don't you?'" Flávio said. He added: "I turned my back and left." He also said he did not tell his father that he would leave the country.
Asked about friends abroad, he said there were contacts outside Brazil, but that this amounted to no more than expectation. "There may have been some cheering on, but nothing more," he said.
Criticism of the Supreme Court and Moraes
In the interview, Flávio again targeted the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Brazil's highest court. He called it "politically motivated" and sharply criticized Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur of the coup-plot case that led to Jair Bolsonaro's imprisonment.
The Times report notes that the senator has not been formally charged with a crime, although he is the target of three investigations at the STF. They include the probe into the financing of the film Dark Horse and suspicions of money laundering and illegal currency transfers linked to his lawyer and friend Willer Tomaz. The source article does not include his defense on these points, and this site does not state anything beyond what it reports.
The election, Lula and the doubts that remain
Flávio said he lost "to the system." He pointed to the extension of voting hours in the runoff, the use of government spending by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the Workers' Party (PT), and the strength of the PT's social media campaign. The Superior Electoral Court (TSE), international observers and the PL itself have acknowledged that the vote count was sound.
The newspaper cites figures: after 5 p.m., the original closing time for polling stations, the TSE recorded 34,000 votes, while Lula's margin of victory was 4.4 million. Even so, the senator says he still intends to challenge the result in court, though he sees little chance of success. "Nobody can say with 100% certainty that I am right, nor with 100% certainty that I am wrong," he said.
Life in the United States and a possible return to the ballot
Now living in the United States, Flávio says he remains in contact with allies in Brazil. The issues they are working on are lowering the age of criminal responsibility, which is under review in Congress, and sentence reductions for those convicted over the January 8 riots in Brasília, including Jair Bolsonaro.
On Donald Trump, he said the U.S. president's lack of interference in Brazil's elections "is the right thing to do," and he thanked the United States for taking his family in. Trump has said he has no plans to meet him, but the senator said he hopes to see him soon. According to Flávio, his family is adapting, and the stay is expected to be temporary.
On the future, he left no doubt: "If there are new elections, obviously I will run again."
Why it matters
Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022 and is now imprisoned following the STF case over an alleged coup plot. Flávio, one of the most prominent figures of the Brazilian right, is choosing to tell his side abroad, in a leading U.S. newspaper, while living outside the country.
VDD Analysis
Flávio chose an American newspaper to give his version, and the message was clear: he sees himself as the target of a system that, in his assessment, acts with political motivation, and he does not intend to leave the game. The fact is that the senator has not been formally charged, and the debate over the limits of the Supreme Court and the weight of the government machine in Lula's election remains open for the right and for voters who demand transparency. The next step will be to see whether he takes his challenge to the result to court and how the STF reacts.
With information from Bacci Política.
