Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Tuesday criticised defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro for leaving the country after his election loss.
He called the move “shameful” and said that his rival should have stayed to defend himself against allegations.
The comments came after US officials confirmed that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family would receive American visas, allowing them to enter the United States following his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election. The deadline to comply expired Tuesday afternoon, but authorities had not immediately confirmed whether he had handed over the documents. This story is being updated.
He added, “I regret that he left Brazil. He could have stayed and proven that the accusations are not true. Flávio Bolsonaro’s departure followed a Supreme Court order requiring him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. Flavio’s departure for the United States threatens to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas. State Department campaign to restore them to office.
Earlier reporting noted: Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro headed to U.S. after losing election, sources say Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing Sunday’s (October 25, 2026) presidential election and refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports, two sources said. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power, and Reuters reported ahead of Sunday’s (October 25, 2026) election on a U.S. Because of visa confidentiality rules, the official spoke anonymously.
A senior US State Department official told the Associated Press that visas would be issued to Bolsonaro and his family but did not reveal whether they had already travelled or were preparing to leave Brazil. Lula said he had just learned that Bolsonaro had left Brazil and argued that the senator should have remained in the country to prove his innocence in ongoing investigations. “Leaving Brazil is shameful,” Lula said, according to Reuters. Lula Da Silva further criticized his family and said, “This is what the Bolsonaro family is like Brazil is their second Nation, the US is the first.
Earlier reporting noted: U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has previously alleged that Flavio Bolsonaro’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil.
