Brazil: Bolsonaro left Brazil before Lula assumed office, said- ‘lost the battle, but not the war, will return’

Detailed

Jair Bolsonaro lost to leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva in the Brazilian presidential election. Although he did not accept his defeat for a long time, while his supporters were also opposing Lula, it has now come to light that Bolsonaro has left Brazil. He left for the United States last Friday. Significantly, his departure from Brazil comes at a time when newly elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will take office on January 1.

According to the news agency Reuters, during his departure from Brazil, he said emotionally that ‘they lost a battle but not the war’. I will be back soon. Before takeoff, he made his statement through a post on social media. He tried to defend his legacy through his statement, and tried to inspire his followers to continue the fight against Lula.

Insights from aircraft tracking data

At the time of leaving Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro did not give information about where he was going. However, his flight tracking data shows that he is headed to Florida, where his security personnel are already present. According to FlightAware, a website, the president’s plane left Brasilia for Orlando, Florida just after 2 p.m. local time.

Refusing to accept his defeat, he has said several times that he will not present the ceremonial presidential ribbon to Lula at Sunday’s inauguration, breaking Brazil’s democratic tradition. Vice President Hamilton Morao is now the Acting President. His press office confirmed Bolsonaro had left the country. Giving the information, a spokesman for the office also said that although he is currently acting president, Morao will not present the ceremonial ribbon of the presidency to Lula. In such a situation, questions are being raised on who will hand over the ceremonial ribbon to the leftist leader.

Earlier, he had reacted after remaining silent for nearly 40 days after the election results were declared. Speaking to his supporters at the gate of the presidential residence, Bolsonaro said that who will decide where I go. Who decides what steps the armed forces should take? However, Bolsonaro did not support supporters’ calls for military intervention and expressed hope that the armed forces would respect Brazil’s constitution.

Refusal to accept Lula da Silva’s victory

Bolsonaro refused to accept the victory of leftist leader Lula da Silva in the elections held in October. His silence encouraged supporters to continue demonstrating outside army bases.