Topline
Embattled ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month visa to continue living in Florida, according to his attorney, as legal problems mount for Bolsonaro back in Brazil and the Biden Administration faces growing pressure to expel him from the United States.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro poses for photos with his supporters outside the home at ... [+]
Key Facts
Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month visitor visa, AG Immigration lawyer Felipe Alexandre said in a statement, since his existing diplomatic visa is set to expire at the end of the month, according to the Financial Times. (FT was first to report the news Monday.)
Bolsonaro has lived at a home in Kissimmee, Florida—near Walt Disney World—since a few days before his term ended on January 1, and has been spotted several times in public engaging in innocuous activities like eating fried chicken at an Orlando-area KFC and shopping at a Publix supermarket.
Political turmoil has erupted in Brazil since Bolsonaro left office, capped by his supporters storming the country’s Congress on January 8 in an assault reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Bolsonaro is under investigation for his role in potentially inciting the attack, and also faces probes for alleged misconduct in office, such as spreading disinformation.
Contra
Bolsonaro condemned the January 8 attack as an act of “vandalism” and denied holding any blame for his supporters’ actions.
Key Background
The hard-right former Brazilian president came into office in early 2019 and was one of the closest international allies of ex-President Donald Trump, who’s given Bolsonaro the apparently endearing nickname “Tropical Trump.” Bolsonaro repeatedly spread baseless conspiracy theories of widespread fraud costing him the 2022 Brazilian election, seeming to follow the playbook Trump laid out for contesting the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, though both efforts were unsuccessful. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to left-wing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—commonly just known as “Lula”—by more than 2 million votes.
Surprising Fact
Rumors surfaced earlier this month that Bolsonaro might apply for Italian citizenship, since Italy is his ancestral homeland. But Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani later said on Italian radio: “He hasn’t asked for it and I don’t believe he can have it, as far as I’m concerned.”
Big Number
41. That’s how many Democratic lawmakers signed a letter earlier this month urging the Biden Administration to revoke Bolsonaro’s visa in response to the storming of the Brazilian Congress.
Further Reading
Jair Bolsonaro seeks six-month US tourist visa to extend Florida stay (Financial Times)
Brazil Election: Left-Wing Lula Narrowly Beats Bolsonaro To Return To Presidency (Forbes)
