Brazil summons Argentine diplomat after Flávio Bolsonaro flees to US via Argentina

Brazil's Foreign Ministry has called in Argentina's top diplomat in Brasília to explain how Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated presidential candidate, left Brazil through Argentina and reached the United States despite being ordered to stay in the country, according to Reuters, AP and AFP.

The chargé d'affaires, María Emilia Cortés, was summoned on Thursday, October 29, government sources told Reuters. The Buenos Aires Times, citing AFP, reported that she was received by João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, the head of the ministry's Mercosur department, in a meeting that lasted only a few minutes and that a Brazilian source described as a "routine procedure". Neither government issued a public statement afterwards, and Brazil has announced no further diplomatic measures.

How he left

Bolsonaro, 45, the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and a senator since 2019, was the Liberal Party's candidate in the presidential runoff held on Sunday. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won with 51.8% of the vote, a fourth non-consecutive term, and Bolsonaro finished more than four million votes behind, Al Jazeera reported.

After the vote, Bolsonaro was given a deadline to surrender his passports and ordered to remain in Brazil as part of an ongoing legal case, according to Al Jazeera. The Buenos Aires Times reported that the order came from Brazil's Supreme Court. He is under investigation in a money-laundering inquiry linked to the collapsed Banco Master; AP describes him as the target of two investigations involving alleged corruption and money laundering. He denies wrongdoing and says the case is politically motivated.

According to the Buenos Aires Times and Al Jazeera, he crossed into Argentina late on Tuesday with his wife and two daughters, went to Puerto Iguazú in Misiones province and boarded a private aircraft that stopped in Guayaquil, Ecuador, before landing at Opa-locka Executive Airport in Miami on Wednesday. AP reported that the US had approved visas for the family this week.

What each side says

On arrival in Miami, Bolsonaro called himself the "legitimate president-elect" of Brazil, Al Jazeera reported. He has refused to concede, alleging without evidence that the election was unfair, and has pointed to a court decision to extend voting hours on polling day; Al Jazeera noted that both campaigns had asked for extensions. His own Liberal Party has acknowledged Lula's victory. In comments reported by AP, he thanked Argentine President Javier Milei for his "courage" and Trump and the American people for welcoming him.

In Buenos Aires, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno denied on social media that Argentina had received a formal request for explanations, Al Jazeera reported. Milei has not commented on the journey, according to AP, but his spokesman Juan Pablo Carreira wrote that the government had rescued Bolsonaro "from the claws of communism". Milei backed Bolsonaro's candidacy and, AP reported, has not acknowledged Lula's win.

US President Donald Trump has called the election "rigged" and a "disgrace", AP reported, but has stopped short of calling Bolsonaro president-elect, saying: "I won't get involved." No statement from Lula on the episode had been reported by Saturday morning.

Background and what happens next

Relations between Brasília and Buenos Aires were already strained. The two countries withdrew their ambassadors earlier this year, after Milei insulted Brazilian officials according to AP, and both embassies are now run by chargés d'affaires. Outlets differ on the timing: AP says Brazil recalled its ambassador in July, while Al Jazeera and the Buenos Aires Times say the recalls came in August.

Al Jazeera said the episode threatens to strain relations further. The Buenos Aires Times reported that an Argentine judge has ordered the Milei government to disclose details of the help it gave Bolsonaro, and that the government is under pressure at home to explain its role. None of the reports said whether Brazil plans to seek his return from the United States.