MIAMI — Brazil's defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro insisted Wednesday he is his country's rightful leader, after fleeing to the United States to start a self-imposed exile. Bolsonaro's defiance on arrival in Florida signaled continued upheaval for Brazil, where leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a dramatic runoff election Sunday. "I am the elected president, and the criminals who stole Brazil's election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny," Bolsonaro said in the statement published on his X account, slamming "electoral fraud." "I will lead the opposition from here," he said. In a subsequent statement, he revised his claim, saying he is the "leader," rather than "president." Bolsonaro, 45, touched down earlier Wednesday in a private jet at Opa-Locka Executive Airport near Miami. Rogerio Marinho, the leader of Bolsonaro's Liberal Party in the Senate, told reporters in Brasilia that he was in "solidarity" with the former candidate, describing him as a "political exile." However, he distanced himself from Bolsonaro's stat
Read full article