A president who quickly turns the page… Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States on Friday, two days before the end of his mandate and the enthronement of his hated left-wing successor Lula in Brasilia, multiple media outlets reported.
Bolsonaro, who has never congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his victory, should therefore not be present at the inauguration ceremonies of the new president in Brasilia on Sunday, whom he had to gird with the presidential sash according to protocol. When asked by AFP, the presidency did not want to confirm this information. Vice President Hamilton Mourao is acting president and will speak on Saturday night, national radio RNR announced.
“I’m in flight, I’ll be back soon”
After saying goodbye to his followers live on social media, but without mentioning any departure, Jair Bolsonaro boarded an Air Force plane around 14:00 (1700 GMT), O Globo Media, CNN Brasil, Estao and news site UOL reported. “I’m on the run, I’ll be back soon,” the far-right head of state told CNN Brasil.
A procession of the president’s cars left the grounds of Alvorada’s official residence in Brasilia, an AFP photographer noted, without being able to confirm Bolsonaro was in one of the vehicles. The General Secretariat of the Presidency has authorized the departure of members of the staff responsible for the security of the “future ex-president” for a trip to Miami “from January 1 to January 30, 2023,” according to the Official Gazette on Friday.
It may be the first time since 1985 that an outgoing Brazilian president has decided not to gird his successor with the presidential sash. That year, the last president of the military dictatorship established in 1964, General João Figueiredo, refused to attend the inauguration ceremony of his successor, José Sarney.
signs of depression
Since the narrow victory of Lula, his sworn enemy, on October 30, Jair Bolsonaro has lived almost like a recluse in Brasilia and has locked himself in silence, showing various signs of depression.
For Créomar de Souza, founder of the consultancy Dharma, Bolsonaro’s departure for the United States takes on aspects of “a leak” but also a “denial of reality”. But it is also an attempt to delegitimize the result (of the election) and the next government,” adds the analyst.
“The Best of Me”
Earlier in the day, the Brazilian president said goodbye to his supporters, spoke on social media for the first time since his election defeat – where he was omnipresent for four years – and wiped away a few tears.
“The world will not stop turning on January 1 (…) We have a great future ahead of us,” assured Mr. Bolsonaro. “We lose battles, but we don’t lose the war”.
He spoke directly to his supporters, who continue to camp outside army barracks or headquarters in Brasilia and other cities, to demand military intervention to prevent Lula from taking office. “I never thought I’d get this far,” said the outgoing president tearfully, before declaring, “At least we delayed Brazil’s collapse by four years with this harmful left-wing ideology.” “I did my best,” continued Jair Bolsonaro, whose majority of analysts rate the mandate’s results as very poor.
He condemns the attempted attack by one of his supporters
In front of his official residence in the Alvorada Palace, demonstrators shouted “Coward! “, ” Shame! “.
The President has for the first time condemned an attempted bombing by one of his supporters who planted an explosive device in a tanker truck near Brasilia airport to “sow chaos” ahead of Lula’s inauguration. “Nothing justifies this attempt at terror,” he said, without however condemning the camps of his supporters in front of the army headquarters, which pose a threat to the progress of the investiture, for which security has been strengthened.