A senator's defeat and a refusal to concede
Flávio Bolsonaro, who is 45, is the elder son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and has held a Senate seat since 2019. A trained lawyer, he contested the presidency for the right-wing Liberal Party and was beaten by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday's vote. He has not accepted the outcome, describing the result as impossible and arguing that it ought to be annulled.[S1]
During the campaign he presented himself as less combative than his father while courting much the same electorate, pledging an agenda along similar lines. He also worked at building closer relations with Washington, meeting Donald Trump at the White House in May and casting himself there as a dependable ally of the US president and his team.[S1]
Washington steps in as his location is questioned
The US State Department has said visas will be issued to Flávio Bolsonaro and members of his family, according to multiple outlets, after he left Brazil following his election loss. Reports describe the decision as coming from Washington and covering his relatives as well as the senator himself.[S2][S3][S4][S5][S6][S7][S8]
Brazilian authorities are meanwhile asking where Bolsonaro is, the BBC reported, a question that remains unresolved in the available accounts. The circumstances of his departure, his current location and the timing of any visa issuance have not been established in the reporting available.[S1][S2][S4]
