Lula was formally sworn in as president of Brazil. Brazil’s former President Bossonaro not only did not attend this power transfer ceremony, but also ran away to the United States early, why did he do so?
Lula’s inauguration was missing a key figure: Bosonaro. Bossonaro was supposed to hand over the presidential ribbon to Lula on the 1st which was an important symbol of the peaceful transition of power in Brazil.
However, Bosonaro woke up in a rented house 6,000 miles away. The owner of the house is a professional mixed martial arts boxer. The house is located just a few miles from Disney World. Bossonaro faced various investigations during his tenure. He flew to Orlando on the evening of Dec. 30 and plans to stay in Florida for at least a month.
Bosonaro has been questioning the reliability of Brazil’s electoral system without evidence for months. When he lost the election last October, he refused to explicitly admit defeat. In his farewell speech on Dec. 30, he tried to prevent Lula from taking President but failed.
Bossonaro’s decision to spend the first few weeks of Lula’s presidency in Florida. He is uneasy about his future in Brazil. Bossonaro who is 67 years old has been linked to five separate investigations, one about his release of documents related to a classified investigation and another about his attacks on Brazil’s voting machines.
Bosonaro will lose the immunity from prosecution he had as president as a private citizen. Some cases against him may be transferred from the Supreme Court to local courts.
A senior Brazilian federal prosecutor says there is enough evidence to prove Bosonaro’s guilt, especially in cases related to leaking classified material. It is unlikely that Bosonaro’s presence in the United States will insulate him from prosecution in Brazil. Florida has become a sort of refuge for Brazilian conservatives in recent years. A close friend of the Bossonaro family revealed that Bossonaro plans to spend one to three months in Florida, allowing him to observe from a distance whether the Lula government will push for an investigation against him.