Brazilians in South Florida react to Flávio Bolsonaro’s arrival in Florida after election defeat

Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro reportedly arrived in Florida with his wife and two daughters after losing the Brazilian presidential election, US officials have confirmed. plans to issue visas allow the family to enter the country.

However, Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said on social media that Bolsonaro and his family were on their way to Ecuador after leaving Brazil and stopping in Argentina. We didn’t know if they were going to stay in Ecuador.

Brazilian media outlet Metropoles reported that Bolsonaro left Brazil after being ordered to surrender his passports. His departure follows Sunday’s defeat by outgoing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

On Tuesday evening at Miami International Airport, several Brazilian passengers flying from São Paulo expressed support for Bolsonaro’s decision and expressed concerns about their country’s political direction.

“Everyone knew this was going to happen,” passenger Eliott Netto told CBS News Miami.

Josua Gias, another Brazilian who arrived in Miami, criticized the situation in his country.

“What they are doing in Brazil is not good,” Gias said.

Another passenger said Brazil would have been better off if Bolsonaro had won. The interviews reflected the opinions of these passengers, rather than a broader measure of Brazilian public opinion.

Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged money laundering in a case involving Brazil’s betting industry. He denies any wrongdoing. Brazilian authorities canceled his passports after he missed the deadline to return them, according to Brazilian media.

Sean Foreman, a political science professor at Barry University, said Bolsonaro’s departure could create political complications for the Trump administration.

“He was supposed to surrender his passport and he didn’t,” Foreman said.

Foreman suggested Bolsonaro could seek asylum in the United States and said his presence could raise questions about the administration’s response to the Brazilian investigation. The announcement that the family would receive visas does not prove that Bolsonaro requested or was granted asylum.

For some Brazilian travelers to Miami, these events have raised concerns about their loved ones back home.

“As a Brazilian right now, I’m afraid of everything that’s happening and I’m afraid that Brazil will become a Venezuela,” one woman told CBS News Miami.

Lula, meanwhile, called Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil “shameful” on Tuesday, according to information provided to CBS News Miami.