Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. File photo | Photo Credit: Reuters
former president of brazil jair bolsonaro Has filed a request for a six-month visitor visa to stay in the US, indicating he may have no immediate intention of returning home, where legal issues await him.
The application was first reported by financial Times, Citing Mr. Bolsonaro’s immigration lawyer, Felipe Alexander. The law firm AG Immigration confirmed the report when contacted by The Associated Press.
Mr Bolsonaro leaves Brazil for Florida on 30 December, two days before the inauguration of his leftist rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The ceremony proceeded without incident, but a week later hardline supporters of Bolsonaro stormed the capital and torched top government buildings, demanding the annulment of Lula’s election.
Bolsonaro is being investigated whether he had any role in inciting the rebellion. It is one of several investigations targeting the former president and causing legal headaches upon his eventual homecoming, and which could strip him of eligibility in future races — or worse.
For the first time in his more than three-decade political career as a legislator and then president, he no longer enjoys the special legal protection that any trial in the Supreme Court requires.
It is widely believed – though this has not been confirmed – that Mr Bolsonaro entered the US on an A-1 visa reserved for heads of state. If so, he would have 30 days from the end of his presidential term to either leave the US or adjust his status with the Department of Homeland Security.
Meanwhile, the shape of his political future and his possible return to Brazil have been the subject of rumor and speculation.
distance from riots
Mario Sergio Lima, a political analyst at Madele Advisors, said Mr Bolsonaro’s calculation appears to be to distance himself from hardliners whose destruction in the capital could implicate him in the short term, with the aim of someday leading the opposition.
Lima said, “He is giving it some time, staying away from the country for a while while he may face legal consequences for the attitude of his supporters.” “I don’t think the fact that he is away is enough. The procedures will continue, but perhaps he thinks he can at least avoid retaliatory punishment.”
Mr Bolsonaro has been living in a home outside Orlando, Florida, and videos show him posing for photos with supporters in the gated community and walking inside a supermarket.
In the wake of the uproar in the Brazilian capital this month, a group of 46 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to President Joe Biden demanding Bolsonaro’s visa be revoked.
He wrote, “The United States should not provide shelter for them, or any authoritarian who inspires such violence against democratic institutions.”
Mr Bolsonaro’s son, a senator, told reporters at an event this weekend that he was not sure when his father would return to Brazil.
“It could be tomorrow, it could be in six months, he may never come back. I don’t know. He’s resting,” Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro said.
Asked whether Mr. Bolsonaro has filed any requests for help with documentation or visa procedures, Brazil’s foreign ministry referred the AP to U.S. officials. US Citizenship and Immigration Services referred the AP to the State Department, which repeatedly declined to comment on questions about Bolsonaro’s visa status in the US.