Flavio Bolsonaro, in Miami, Claims Brazil Presidency Despite Losing Election to Lula

Brasília, Brazil. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro declared on Wednesday that he is the rightful president-elect, accusing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the Supreme Court of staging an electoral coup d’etat against him. He lost Sunday’s presidential election and has since left Brazil for Miami.

Open letter from abroad

In an open letter that his allies passed to journalists, Bolsonaro addressed his 60 million voters and the wider Brazilian public. He wrote, “I am the elected president”. He also accused those he blamed for the outcome of running a criminal group that has imposed tyranny on the country.

Related: Flavio Bolsonaro and Family Arrive in Miami After Defying Brazilian Court Order on Passports

RelatedFlavio Bolsonaro and Family Arrive in Miami After Defying Brazilian Court Order on Passports

Bolsonaro offered no evidence of electoral fraud. International observers have judged Sunday’s vote to be fair.

Departure for the United States

Bolsonaro and his family reached Miami on Wednesday, after receiving US visas. He thanked US President Donald Trump and Argentine leader Javier Milei for helping him leave Brazil and for receiving him.

He left the country secretly, after declining to follow a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports. The order is linked to a money-laundering investigation, in which he denies any wrongdoing.

Lula’s office, the federal electoral court and the Supreme Court did not immediately answer requests for comment.

Dispute over extended voting

Bolsonaro rested his refusal to accept the result on a decision by a Supreme Court justice appointed by Lula. The justice lengthened Sunday’s voting by two hours after Lula’s campaign alleged voter suppression in a left-leaning state in the northeast. Bolsonaro’s own campaign had likewise requested an extension, citing rain in conservative-leaning states in the south.

Lula won by roughly 4.5 million votes. According to an analysis of electoral records by Insper professor Pedro Burgos, fewer than 35,000 votes, about 0.03% of the total, were cast during the additional two hours ordered by the Supreme Court.