Jair Bolsonaro returns to Brazil

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro left the United States of America, where he lived for three months, is leaving for Brazil for what is expected to be the start of an intense campaign to regain lost ground ahead of the 2024 municipal elections.

Speaking with CNN Brazil Before taking off, on the night from Wednesday to Thursday, Bolsonaro said that he would not lead “any opposition”, but that he would participate with his party, “as an experienced person for 28 years in the House, four as president, two as councilor and 15 in the army, to cooperate with those who want it.

“I don’t want to change parliamentarians […] At the moment I am a politician without a mandate, I will be with our bench,” says Europa Press. Bolsonaro continues without explicitly acknowledging his electoral defeat against Lula. And a few days before his return flight, he hinted in an interview for the chain young bread which will oppose the government of the current Brazilian president.

unresolved issues with the judiciary

Bolsonaro is under investigation in his country because of the January 8 invasion of the headquarters of the three state powers by his most radical followers.

In recent weeks, another cover was added, which has not yet reached the court, about the valuable gifts he received from Saudi Arabia as president and kept after leaving power, despite having to hand them over to the state.

At the airport, before leaving, Bolsonaro said that he would leave “without a problem” to explain the jewelry and other gifts he received from the Saudis. Despite this, he insisted on his innocence: “I will follow the instructions of my lawyers,” he explained. “The jewels have been delivered, embezzlement? My God, we registered them, some of our secretary listed them, the jewels are not mine, period.

The former president of Brazil has been living in central Florida these months, surrounded by the support of his followers among the large Brazilian community and careful not to make statements that might please the authorities. His presence in the United States has become more controversial as a result of the three-power attack in Brasilia in January by hundreds of his followers to overthrow Lula’s government.

The “turned page” of the election

Bolsonaro said the result of the 2022 election was “quite close”, but insisted that this election had already “turned the page”, and confirmed that he would make “one or two trips” to Brazil a month during his new campaign.

Bolsonaro does not like the security protocol that the authorities in the Brazilian capital have prepared for his return. His party says that this is typical of a “convict”, not a former president.

Agents of the Federal Police and the Federal District Security Secretariat will escort you from the plane through the restricted area to the vehicle that will take you home, preventing you from being received by your escorts in the airport lobby, which has caused discomfort, according to reports or a globe.