(Brasilia) Former President Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that he intends to return to Brazil “in the coming weeks”.
This is what he mentioned during an event held in a church in Florida. He had never mentioned his intention to return to Brazil before this statement.
The far-right politician has resided in the United States, more precisely in Orlando, since December 31, the day before the inauguration of his successor to the presidency, his left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Saturday’s event was held entirely in Portuguese in front of supporters of Mr. Bolsonaro, who received warm applause.
Rumors have been swirling for a few weeks concerning a possible return of Mr. Bolsonaro to Brazil, where he is under the magnifying glass of investigators in several files.
He first arrived in the United States under a diplomatic visa valid for one month, which therefore expired on January 31. The ex-president was accompanied by a few advisers and his wife, who left Florida last month.
Lawyers for Mr Bolsonaro said their client had applied for a tourist visa to allow him to extend his stay in the United States.
Regarding the rumors surrounding a return to Brazil of Mr. Bolsonaro, one of his sons, Flavio, had told Brazilian journalists that he did not know what his father was preparing.
“He could come back tomorrow, in six months, maybe never, I don’t know. He is resting, ”said Flavio Bolsonaro.
For the first time in more than 30 years in politics, Mr. Bolsonaro no longer enjoys the special legal protection that requires any trial against him to take place before the Supreme Court.
It is the subject of four inquiries, which were before the Supreme Court, but which were returned to the lower court last week.
Among those investigations is whether Mr Bolsonaro played a role in inciting the January 8 riot by his supporters, who stormed into government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, demanding that his electoral defeat against Lula is annulled.
Investigators are also looking into who organized and funded the mass rally of Bolsonaro supporters, who came to the capital from all over Brazil.