Flavio Bolsonaro declares himself Brazil's legitimate leader after election loss, flees to US
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the presidential election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, arrived in the United States and declared himself the legitimate leader of Brazil, accusing the Supreme Court and the president of an alleged coup without providing evidence of election fraud. Bolsonaro published an open letter on X calling himself the "elected president," then deleted it and reposted a version claiming to be the legitimate "leader" of Brazil. He thanked Argentine President Javier Milei and US President Donald Trump for assistance with his departure and reception in the US. Bolsonaro arrived in Miami on Wednesday, October 28, after refusing a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports in a money laundering investigation. Lula won the October 25 runoff with 51.8% of votes, while Bolsonaro received 48.2%.