In the last hours of his term in office, the voted-out Brazilian President Bolsonaro fled to the United States. He doesn’t want to go back to his home country anytime soon because investigations are being carried out against him there. However, his diplomatic visa is now expiring.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month tourist visa a month after leaving the US. This was confirmed by his lawyer Felipe Alexandre. Bolsonaro submitted the application on Friday. He will remain in the US while it is decided. “He wants to take some time off, clear his head and enjoy being a tourist in the US for a few months,” Alexandre said. Bolsonaro will then decide how to proceed.
The right-wing politician is being targeted by Brazilian investigators in his home country because of the storming of the presidential palace in the capital Brasília by Bolsonaro supporters.
The deselected Bolsonaro flew to the US state of Florida at the end of December on the last day of his term of office. Contrary to tradition, he did not attend the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Then, on January 8, hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, the congress building and the seat of the Supreme Court in Brasília. Her anger was vented at the election victory of the left-leaning Lula, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff and has been in office since the beginning of the year.
Bolsonaro later distanced himself from the attack on the presidential palace. At the same time, he denied any responsibility for it. The Supreme Court has approved an investigation into whether Bolsonaro incited the anti-democracy protests.
US lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa in response to the violence in Brasília. Bolsonaro is said to be in Florida on a diplomatic visa, which expires on Tuesday.