Jair Bolsonaro arrives in Brazil after three months in the US

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who left Brazil on December 30, 2022, the day before his term expired, returned to the country this Thursday. The commercial plane that took him from Orlando in the US to Brasilia landed at the airport in the Brazilian capital shortly after 6:40 am local time (10:40 am in Lisbon).

Contrary to what he would like and what was prepared by his party, the Liberal Party, Bolsonaro was not met at the airport by a crowd of supporters and was not taken in an open car to the city center.

The Secretariat of Public Security of Brasilia and the Federal Police assessed the high risk of riots and acts of violence, such as those committed by the radical Bolsonarists on January 8, and blocked access to the airport.

The former president, who expressed great dissatisfaction with the fact that he could not at least get out with other passengers through the main gate, was escorted through the side exit of the airport, accompanied by federal agents. His cars and entourage then, in addition to a few police cars, drove to the headquarters of the Liberal Party, the former president’s first stop in the Brazilian capital, where he will live in a party-paid mansion. Even on the permitted sections of the route, there were almost no supporters.

It wasn’t until after a breakfast specially prepared by his wife Michele Bolsonaro at the LP’s headquarters, and after being greeted by party leaders, that the former leader made his first speech on Brazilian soil. But before leaving for Brazil, while still in the US, Bolsonaro had already poured a bucket of cold water on the claims of his party and the far right, saying he did not intend to be the leader of the opposition to Lula da Silva’s government. (END).