Conservative former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently banned from leaving the country, asked the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Wednesday to allow him to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January if he receives an invitation. Then he said.
STF Minister (Legal) Alexandre de Moraes prohibited Although Bolsonaro did not leave Brazil this year, he ordered Brazilian police to seize his passport from his office, effectively trapping him in Brazilian territory.
The travel ban imposed on the former president in February is said to have been orchestrated by Bolsonaro after he narrowly lost Brazil's October presidential election to current socialist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It stems from an ongoing investigation led by de Moraes into a “coup” plot. 2022 election.
Bolsonaro spoke on Wednesday with Brazil's left-wing newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. Mr. Bolsonaro said in the interview that Mr. de Moraes had rejected three requests to travel abroad, the last being to travel to Mar-A-Florida as one of Mr. Trump's guests to await the results. He pointed out that he was trying to allow President Trump to visit him at his Largo mansion. election day.
“If President Trump invites me, I will petition the TSE.” [Superior Electoral Tribunal],STF. Now, with all due respect, the strongest man in the world… do you think he would invite Lula? It's probably a matter of protocol,” Bolsonaro said. claimed.
“Who will he invite from Brazil? Maybe just me. Is it him? [de Moraes] Are you going to say no to the most powerful man in the world? i am ex [president]. Is the guy going to cause trouble because of his ex? ” he continued.
Bolsonaro was one of the first politicians in the region to speak publicly. Congratulations President Trump called Tuesday's victory “historic” and a milestone that “rekindles the flames of freedom, sovereignty and true democracy.” Bolsonaro explained: Folha Bolsonaro said he always had good relations with the president-elect, who was worried Brazil was turning into Venezuela.
“he [Trump] “I was interested in making Brazil the beacon of democracy in South America,” Bolsonaro said. “That was his main intention.”
Mr Bolsonaro claimed to the newspaper that Mr de Moraes denied his request for travel permission to visit Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week, but instead his son, Rep. Eduardo Bolsonaro, visited the US this week. .
“Eduardo has a deep friendship with him.” [Trump]. Of the 85 guests, [at Mar-a-Lago]he went and brought two more people, Gilson. [Machado, Bolsonaro’s former Tourism Minister] And Gilson’s son,” Bolsonaro said. “He has me as a person he likes. It's like liking someone for free, right?” This passion came from the way I understood my position and treated him . ”
Since leaving office in January 2023, Bolsonaro has been the target of multiple investigations. raidand indictment Self-proclaimed “anti-fake news” campaigners led by de Moraes. prohibited Bolsonaro refrained from running for eight years after expressing concerns about the security of Brazil's electoral system in a meeting with foreign ambassadors in 2022.
The former president of Brazil said: Folha He said that despite the aggressive ban, he considered Trump's victory a “very important step” toward returning as Brazil's president in the upcoming 2026 election.
“It's like walking a thousand steps, you have to take the first step, you have to take the tenth step, and Mr. Trump is a very important step,” Bolsonaro said.
Asked how he thought Trump's victory would affect Brazil, Bolsonaro said it would affect “the world,” adding that the United States is the world's largest democracy and “has always asserted its strength.” He said it was a “country”.
“While President Trump was in office, there was no conflict in the world,” Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro appealed court rules that forced him to surrender his passport and a gag order that barred him from contacting anyone else being investigated by Brazilian authorities over the ongoing coup probe. STF unanimously rejected An appeal was filed in late October.
De Moraes, who reported the incident, claimed that if Brazil's federal police proceed with the investigation, Bolsonaro “may try to leave the country.”
“They've been trying to frame me as a coup mastermind for two years, damn it,” Bolsonaro said of the ongoing coup plot investigation.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
