President Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States on Friday, two days before the end of his term and the enthronement of his hated left-wing successor Lula in Brasilia, multiple media outlets reported.
Jair Bolsonaro, who has never congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his victory, is therefore unlikely to be present at the inauguration ceremonies in Brasilia on Sunday for the new president, whom protocol required him to wear the presidential sash. 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.
He ended up in Orlando
After saying goodbye to his supporters live on social media without mentioning any departure, Jair Bolsonaro boarded an Air Force plane around 2 p.m. (6 p.m. Swiss), O Globo Media, CNN Brasil, Esstadao and the news site reported UOL.
“I’m on the run, I’ll be back soon,” the far-right head of state told CNN Brasil. His military plane, identified with the code BRS1, landed in the city of Orlando, Florida, shortly after 3 a.m. (Switzerland) on Saturday, according to the specialized site Flightaware. The general secretariat of the presidency has authorized the exit from the territory of members of the “future ex-president’s” security staff for a trip to Miami “from January 1 to January 30, 2023,” according to the official’s diary on Friday.
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A premiere since 1985
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.
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 consulting firm Dharma, Jair Bolsonaro’s departure for the United States has aspects of “escape” but also of “denial of reality”. But it is also “an attempt to delegitimize the result (of the election) and the next government,” adds the analyst.
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Farewell with a few tears
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 spinning on January 1st. […] We have a great future ahead of us,” Bolsonaro said. “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,” the outgoing president said tearfully, before declaring, “At least we delayed Brazil’s collapse by four years with this disgraceful left-wing ideology.” “I did my best,” he continued.
In front of his official residence in the Alvorada Palace, demonstrators watching the live broadcast shouted “Coward!”, “Shame!”.
He condemns an attempted attack
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.