Bolsonaro set to stay in the U.S. at least until mid-March

Photo: Alf Ribeiro/Shutterstock

The office of the government’s chief of staff issued an order on Monday morning sending three public servants to provide security for former President Jair Bolsonaro in Orlando, Florida, and Washington DC.

The permission for the three men runs until March 15, suggesting the former far-right head of state could return to Brazil on that date. Mr. Bolsonaro has been in the U.S. since December 30 of last year, avoiding the inauguration ceremony of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Mr. Bolsonaro is set to take part in this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), to be held this week between Wednesday and Saturday. Though the order from the chief of staff allows the security guards in question to provide services for Mr. Bolsonaro in Washington DC, the conference will be held in National Harbor, Maryland, downriver from the capital city.

CPAC was first brought to Brazil in 2019 by Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, the president’s third-eldest son and the leading foreign-facing figure of Bolsonarism. The first two editions in the country were held in São Paulo and Brasília, and the third was taken to Campinas — as Mr. Bolsonaro’s failed re-election campaign tried to be more focused on Brazil’s vast interior regions.

In an interview published by the Wall Street Journal two weeks ago, Mr. Bolsonaro affirmed that he would return to Brazil in March.

The former president is currently in the U.S. on a tourist visa, which grants him the right to stay in the country for six months. However, during this time he is not allowed to engage in paid work.

He has delivered a series of lectures in Florida over the past few weeks. It is unclear whether he received remuneration for these events.

Mr. Bolsonaro is currently under investigation for allegedly inciting the January 8 riots — when thousands of far-right radicals stormed government buildings to protest the 2022 election, which they falsely claim was rigged. Mr. Bolsonaro has for years told his supporters that Brazil’s electronic voting machines can be defrauded.

He also faces the possibility of becoming ineligible for office, as Brazil’s top electoral court prepares to hold a trial on whether Mr. Bolsonaro abused his political power to try and sway the elections when he was still president.

Euan Marshall

Originally from Scotland, Euan Marshall traded Glasgow for São Paulo in 2011. Specializing in Brazilian soccer, politics, and the connection between the two, he authored a comprehensive history of Brazilian soccer entitled “A to Zico: An Alphabet of Brazilian Football.”