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Brazil’s ex-president appears in a Trump hotel and wants to stay in the USA for the time being. An escape from justice, say critics.
Jair Bolsonaro is the star guest at this event. The host is Charlie Kirk, podcaster and founder of the influential far-right organization Turning Point USA. Kirk is supporting Trump and the event is taking place at a Trump hotel, the Trump National Doral in Miami.
Like Trump, Kirk spreads the lie about electoral fraud, Bolsonaro has repeatedly sowed doubts about the electoral system and never admitted his defeat. Also in the audience opinions were made that Bolsonaro was a victim of fraud. “Bolsonaro didn’t lose at all, there was fraud,” says a Brazilian-American dual citizen. Several other guests see the same thing. The hall is not completely full, but those present are very enthusiastic about Bolsonaro’s performance.
In his speech, Bolsonaro said his popularity was greater last year than before. He could not imagine why the left-wing candidate won. Host Kirk interjects that it sounds familiar, alluding to Trump being voted out. Again and again the people in the hall start shouting: “Lock up Lula!” to summon the Brazilian President.
Bolsonaro applies for a tourist visa
Almost a month ago, on January 8, 2023, supporters of the voted-out Brazilian President Bolsonaro stormed the government district. Bolsonaro himself was not in Brazil – he had traveled to the USA shortly before the inauguration of the new President Lula.
Bolsonaro stayed in a house at a resort near Orlando and Disneyland for a month. He led a relatively low-key life, having his picture taken with followers who waited for hours outside the house where he lived. A neighbor tells SRF News that he left the house a few days ago.
Legend:
Bolsonaro was narrowly defeated by left-wing politician Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a runoff election. He then expressed unproven doubts about the reliability of the electronic voting system. Now he is in the USA – indefinitely.
Keystone/AP/Rebecca Blackwell
According to his lawyer, Bolsonaro has now applied for a tourist visa for six months. At a small media event this week, Bolsonaro said he wanted to stay a little longer, even if he missed Brazil.
However, critics suspect that he wants to evade the Brazilian judiciary. After Bolsonaro supporters stormed the government district in Brasilia, the authorities are investigating a possible involvement of Bolsonaro. Further procedures are in progress. The parallels to the storming of the Capitol in the USA, where the role of Donald Trump is also being investigated, are difficult to overlook.
Biden government in a bind
Several dozen members of the Democratic Party have written to US President Joe Biden that Bolsonaro should not find refuge from the Brazilian judiciary here. For the US government, Bolsonaro’s new life in the United States is a tricky one. All the more so as Brazilian President Lula is expected in Washington for an official meeting with Biden in a week.
The mood in the Trump Hotel in Miami was completely different. There Bolsonaro leaves the stage to cheers and surrounded by supporters. Everyone wants to take another picture with him, a tumult. The enthusiasm of his followers is still unbroken.
Legend:
Viviane Manz, SRF correspondent in New York.
SRF
Assessment by Viviane Manz, US correspondent for SRF: “The former Brazilian President as a star guest on the US right, in a hotel owned by former US President Trump. The Trumpist-Bolsonarist movement is anything but dead, they are working together, and here in Florida in particular there are many supporters.
It is uncanny to see them convinced of the lie of voter fraud, a claim that is fabricated and disproved many times over. For the Biden administration, Bolsonaro’s new political life in Florida is highly unwelcome, since it is his declared goal to strengthen democracy internationally and not the lie of electoral fraud.