The alleged instigator of a violent election denial movement, the ex-president of Brazil, tells a Florida audience that he plans to soon return home.
Jair Bolsonaro, a former president of Brazil, announced on Saturday that he would be going back to his country “in the coming weeks” after spending more than a month there.
Before the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1, Bolsonaro took a flight to Florida. He then applied for a six-month tourist visa to extend his stay in the US.
“There is no place like home… We know Brazil is a fantastic country,” Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, a video posted online by broadcaster CNN showed.
“I also want to return to Brazil. I intend to return to Brazil in the coming weeks.”
A swift return to Brazil could pose risks for Bolsonaro, who is accused of instigating a violent election denial movement in his home country.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended in the storming of government buildings by his supporters in Brasilia.
His plans to return were put into question after his lawyer told the Reuters news agency last month the former president would like to “enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be”.
Still, a US official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after the carnival festival, which ends on February 22.