The rumor continues. Brazilian media bring it up, Italian keep it simmering. Jair Bolsonaro (67) is said to have applied for Italian citizenship in Rome. Reason: a safe exile.
In the US, Bolsonaro’s right of residence seems to be wavering. The ex-president of Brazil traveled to Florida just after the second round at the end of October, where he narrowly lost to the left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (77). Since then, Bolsonaro has lived with his family in the villa of Brazilian MMA fighter José Aldo (36).
Political opponents see the trip as an escape from several pending criminal cases. The ex-serviceman also orchestrated the attack on the government district in Brasilia from the US and at the same time wanted to get out of the affair due to his absence, according to further suspicions. The out-voted Brazilian president no longer seems safe in the homeland of his American friend Donald Trump (76).
Bolsonaro’s expulsion from the United States demanded
The violent attacks on Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palace last Sunday shocked the world’s public. Heads of state around the world condemned the riots in Brasilia. The US, Canada and Mexico pledged their full support to Lula da Silva.
As the first Democratic members of Congress call for Jair Bolsonaro to be expelled to Brazil, US President Joe Biden (79) announces a meeting with Lula da Silva in Washington on Monday. After the uprising in his own country, he acted hard. Lula had all protest camps of Bolsonaro supporters disbanded and about 1,500 demonstrators arrested. There were arrest warrants against the donors of the coup attempt, says Justice Minister Flávio Dino (54). And Lula vows to bring those responsible to justice. Also Bolsonaro?
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, 46, assured the media that the United States had not yet received an extradition request. Still, things are getting more and more uncomfortable for Jair Bolsonaro. Not only because of severe abdominal pain, for which he was temporarily treated in a hospital in Orlando, Florida. Even though the ex-president denounced the violent orgy in the government district in a tweet and announced his alleged return to Brazil, rumors of the desired exile in Italy are circulating.
Good chances to become Italian
In fact, there are good chances for Jair Bolsonaro to become Italian. This thanks to his great-grandfather Vittorio Bolsonaro, who comes from Anguillara Veneta in the province of Padua. In the city of 4,200 souls, the ‘tropical Trump’ has been an honorary citizen for a year. Two of his five sons, Flávio (41) and Eduardo Bolsonaro (38), applied for Italian citizenship at the Italian consulate in Brasilia in 2020 due to blood relationship.
The Bolsonaros, on the other hand, are publicly combative and patriotic. Son Eduardo addresses journalists about a major internet election fraud. Brother Flávio posts: “Let’s lift up our heads and let’s not give up our Brazil.”
And father Jair Bolsonaro proclaims: “It is the people who determine their fate. Also about the army and its use.” In some cases, she cut a worryingly bad figure during the riots. Local military police let the crowd rant for more than three hours, and many a soldier “protected” protesters from security forces who had come in to crush the uprising.