Jair Bolsonaro Is Back in Brazil After Self-Imposed Exile in Florida

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has returned to his country after being in self-imposed exile for three months in Florida.

Al Jazeera News reported that Bolsonaro's supporters met the far-right leader at the capital Brasilia's airport, with Brazilian flags draped around their shoulders and sang the national anthem.

His supporters also chanted "legend" as Bolsonaro arrived from the United States on Thursday. Bolsonaro never conceded defeat to Brazil's new president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro is now expected to lead the opposition to the leftist president, according to Liberal Party officials.

Before boarding, the former president said they have "turned a page" and now preparing for next year's election. However, he added that he will not be leading any opposition.

Bolsonaro noted that one does not have to oppose the current government as "it creates the opposition by itself."

Guilherme Casaroes, a researcher with the Far Right Observatory, told the outlet that Bolsonaro considered returning to Brazil due to fears that if he stayed away for too long, some other politicians could try to fill in the void of political leadership on the right wing.

The former president left for the United States two days before handing over the presidency to Lula, saying he needed rest.

Jair Bolsonaro Back in Brazil

Jair Bolsonaor denounced his supporters' alleged invasion of Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and the presidential Planalto Palace on January 8 but welcomed peaceful demonstrations.

It happened as his camp continued to allege election fraud and filed petitions for an audit of voting machines.

CNN reported that Brazil's former president had issued misinformation about election fraud and made vague comments that could have suggested a possible coup.

The January 8 event in Brazil is similar to the United States January 6 Capitol riot, wherein former President Donald Trump's supporters breached Congress to overturn election results.

Aside from his alleged role in the mass attack in Brasilia, Bolsonaro is also facing a probe regarding jewelry he reportedly received as a gift from the Saudi Arabian government while in office.

Bolsonaro was accused of trying to illegally bring $3.2 million of jewelry into Brazil. Federal police have subpoenaed him to appear before authorities over the matter.

Jair Bolsonaro's Legal Problems

The Brazilian far-right leader is facing five Supreme Court probes, which could land him in prison.

Four of those probes were for his alleged crimes during his term from 2019 to 2022, and one over accusations that he incited the January 8 riot in Brazil.

In 2020, the first investigation against Bolsonaro was put in public with Justice Minister Sergio Moro accusing the former president of influencing federal investigations to protect his family from corruption charges, France 24 reported.

He is also under investigation for two cases of spreading disinformation, with one about the country's COVID-19 response and the other about Brazil's election system.

The last Supreme Court investigation was for leaking classified information on a police investigation of a hacker attack on Brazil's electoral authority.

In the case of Saudi Arabian jewelry, Bolsonaro allegedly committed embezzlement or tax fraud. The former president has maintained his innocence despite allegations against him.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Bolsonaro Returns to Brazil After Three Months - From Associated Press