Flávio Bolsonaro had hoped that by Sunday night people would be calling him the next president of Brazil.
Instead, the far-right politician’s decision to flee to the US after losing the election and – for 58 minutes – to declare himself “Brazil’s true president-elect”, has made him a laughing stock, with Brazilian newspapers and commentators raining a barrage of scornful adjectives down on the conquered candidate.
“If it served any purpose at all, Flávio’s foolishness liberated the democratic right from a family of coup-mongers, which for far too long held it hostage to their reckless folly and irremediable disdain for Brazil,” the conservative Estado de São Paulo newspaper thundered on Friday.
Bolsonaro fled to Miami on Tuesday night, 48 hours after being beaten by his leftwing adversary, the incumbent president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, by 4.4m votes. Lula’s victory has been recognised by rightwing leaders from around the world, including El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, not to mention Bolsonaro’s own party and many key allies. » | Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro | Friday, October 30, 2026
